China’s ‘Nvidia Alternative’ Cambricon Sees Revenues Surge 4000%

China’s Cambricon Posts Record Profits as Beijing Pushes for a Homegrown Nvidia Rival

Chinese semiconductor company Cambricon has reported record profits in the first half of the year, underscoring Beijing’s push to cultivate domestic alternatives to U.S. chip giant Nvidia.

Cambricon is among a growing field of Chinese firms racing to supply the high-performance chips needed to train and run artificial intelligence models—markets long dominated by Nvidia.

According to a report by CNBC cited by Al Arabiya Business, Cambricon’s revenues skyrocketed by more than 4,000% year-on-year, reaching 2.88 billion yuan ($402.7 million). Net profit also hit a record 1.04 billion yuan. While still small compared with Nvidia’s massive $44 billion in revenue from February to April, the surge highlights China’s determination to wean itself off U.S. technology.

The U.S. government earlier this year restricted Nvidia from selling its H2O chips to China. Although Washington later allowed exports to resume, Nvidia must now share 15% of its China sales revenue with the U.S. government. At the same time, Beijing has reportedly discouraged local firms from purchasing H2O units, further fueling demand for domestic alternatives like Cambricon.

China’s tech giants are now relying on a mix of domestic processors and previously acquired Nvidia hardware, creating fertile ground for Cambricon’s rapid rise. Shares of the company have more than doubled this year, adding over $40 billion to its market value, with its total capitalization now standing at around $80 billion, according to S&P Capital IQ.

Nvidia’s strength, however, extends far beyond its hardware, with developers worldwide deeply tied to its powerful software ecosystem. Cambricon said on Wednesday it is working to improve its software offerings and develop next-generation hardware to narrow the gap.

Still, challenges remain. Chinese chipmakers are years behind Nvidia in both performance and ecosystem maturity. Export controls also continue to limit China’s access to cutting-edge technologies, potentially slowing the country’s progress in building a self-sufficient AI chip industry.

Cambricon’s surge, however, signals that China’s homegrown challengers are stepping up—whether or not they can truly rival Nvidia in the long run.