Last Updated -

February 1, 2026

Cambricon

Company Profile and Market Insights

Explore the business model, global strategy, and market performance including insights into its position in China.

Key facts

Founded March 2016 • Listed on SSE STAR Market July 2020 • Stock code 688256

Mar 2016

Founded

Jul 2020

Listing on STAR Market

688256

Ticker (SSE STAR)

~RMB 2.9 bn

Revenue H1 2025 (reported)

~RMB 1.0 bn

Net profit H1 2025 (reported)

RMB 5 to 7 bn

FY operating revenue outlook (reported)

About

Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited (中科寒武纪科技股份有限公司) is a Beijing-based fabless semiconductor company founded in March 2016 and listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market in July 2020 (688256). The company grew out of research work linked to the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, bringing academic AI-processor design into commercial products for industry customers.

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Cambricon develops AI processor chips and related systems for cloud servers, edge computing, and terminal devices. Its product offering spans cloud accelerator chips and boards, edge chips and modules, terminal processor IP, and a supporting software stack including NeuWare and MagicMind for model deployment and optimization. Cambricon describes its strategy as an “End + Cloud” approach that targets AI workloads across data centers and connected devices.

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In 2025, Cambricon’s business profile shifted from long-running losses toward profitability as demand for domestic AI compute accelerated. Reuters reported about RMB 2.9 billion in first-half 2025 revenue and around RMB 1 billion in first-half net profit, and cited company guidance for RMB 5 to 7 billion in full-year operating revenue.

Business Model and Market Position

Cambricon is a fabless AI chip designer that focuses on “cloud–edge–terminal” intelligent computing. It earns revenue from selling AI chips and accelerator hardware, licensing processor IP, and delivering a supporting software stack plus system-level solutions for data centers.

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Core activities include:
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Cloud products (data center):
Cloud AI chips and accelerator cards, plus “smart” server systems built around Cambricon chips. The company also sells integrated intelligent computing cluster solutions that combine partner servers, networking, and storage with Cambricon’s cluster management software for customers that want a packaged deployment.
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Edge products:
AI chips and hardware for edge computing use cases where compute sits between terminals and centralized cloud infrastructure.
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IP licensing and platform software:
Licensing Cambricon’s processor IP for customer products, plus a unified base software platform and toolchain designed to reduce porting work across cloud, edge, and terminal deployments.
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Developer ecosystem:
System software designed to work with mainstream AI frameworks including TensorFlow and PyTorch, as well as domestic frameworks such as Paddle, across training and inference.

Market position

Cambricon sits among China’s best-known domestic AI accelerator suppliers, benefiting from China’s push to localize critical computing infrastructure. In late 2025, the Financial Times reported that Chinese authorities added Huawei and Cambricon AI processors to a government procurement catalogue, signaling stronger public-sector pull for domestic chips. In 1H 2025, Cambricon reported revenue of about RMB 2.88bn and net profit of about RMB 1.04bn, a sharp shift that supports its credibility with large customers.

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The competitive set includes Huawei (Ascend) and a widening field of domestic GPU and accelerator designers. The main constraint for the whole segment remains software migration friction from Nvidia’s CUDA-centered tooling, so Cambricon’s software compatibility and tooling investment is a key battleground.

Performance in China

China’s AI build-out and import substitution push have lifted demand for domestic accelerators. In late 2025, Cambricon chips were added to a government “Xinchuang” procurement catalogue, and Reuters reported guidance that state-funded data center projects must avoid foreign AI chips, which strengthens the addressable market for local suppliers.

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Financial performance rebounded with cloud-driven orders. For H1 2025, Cambricon reported revenue of about RMB 2.9 billion and net profit of about RMB 1.0 billion, compared with a loss a year earlier.

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Key dynamics in China
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Large-customer pull:
The Financial Times reported support and testing by Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, plus a partnership with ByteDance on Nvidia-compatible chips.
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Supply constraints:
Output depends on domestic foundry capacity, with reporting pointing to tight availability at SMIC.
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Rising domestic competition:
Huawei’s Ascend and other local accelerator efforts keep pricing and performance pressure high as buyers standardize on fewer stacks.

Growth and Future Prospects

Cambricon’s growth outlook is tied to China’s push to localize AI compute in data centers and public-sector systems. In December 2025, China added domestic AI processors, including Cambricon, to an official procurement list for the first time, reinforcing demand for local accelerators in government and state-linked projects. China has also used incentives such as energy subsidies to steer data centers toward domestic chips.

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The company’s financial rebound in 2025 increased its capacity to invest. Reuters reported around RMB 2.9 billion in first-half 2025 revenue and around RMB 1.0 billion in first-half net profit, with a full-year operating revenue outlook of RMB 5 to 7 billion. Cambricon has also signaled a larger reinvestment cycle through fundraising plans, including a follow-on share sale plan around RMB 4 billion aimed at chip and software development.

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Key growth drivers include
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Policy-driven demand for domestic AI accelerators via procurement guidance and incentives that favor Chinese chips in public-sector deployments.
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Cloud AI build-out by major buyers as Chinese platforms expand training and inference capacity under tighter Nvidia supply conditions.
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Capacity and output ramp plans: Bloomberg reported Cambricon plans to more than triple AI chip production in 2026, tied to Siyuan-series processors.
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Software and platform work to reduce friction for customers migrating workloads away from CUDA-centered stacks.
Balance-sheet support for R&D through the planned equity raise targeted at next-generation chips and tooling.
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Challenges ahead include:
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Manufacturing and supply bottlenecks in domestic foundry capacity, plus constraints from restrictions on advanced tooling and related inputs.
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Export-control overhang: Cambricon was added to the US Entity List in December 2022, restricting access to US-origin items under export rules.
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Intensifying domestic competition from Huawei and other Chinese accelerator efforts as buyers standardize on fewer stacks and push for price-performance.
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Demand volatility and valuation risk: Reuters reported sharp stock moves and company risk warnings after the 2025 rally, which can raise the cost of execution missteps.

This Company Profile was written by Dominik Diemer

Dominik Diemer blends an investor mindset with execution discipline.

He is a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) and Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practitioner at DMG MORI Digital, working as a SAFe Release Train Engineer and internal consultant in the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE).

His focus is prioritization, flow, and dependency management that turns strategy into outcomes. With experience across Bertelsmann and the Founders Foundation, he bridges corporate and startup thinking.

He also invests privately in private equity deals, sharpening his view on business models, value drivers, and go-to-market.

StockCounterParts reflects that lens.

Dominik Diemer

Founder of StockCounterparts.com