China’s home-grown artificial intelligence chipmakers are starting to cash in on Beijing’s self-reliance drive, but a fresh wave of first-half earnings reveals a stark divide between the industry’s rising profit stars and loss-making players.
Shares of Chinese AI chipmakers traded mixed on Monday as investors digested the financial updates.
MetaX Integrated Circuits saw its Shanghai-listed stock rise 2.4 per cent to 691.2 yuan on Monday after reporting a swing to profitability late on Sunday. Cross-town rival Biren Technology surged 18.8 per cent to HK$46.62 in Hong Kong, while Iluvatar Corex dropped 2.2 per cent to HK$388.2 in Hong Kong.
The stock moves followed reports of a pivotal half-year for domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) designers, who are beginning to reap financial rewards from Beijing’s push for tech self-sufficiency and an aggressive national AI infrastructure buildout.
MetaX, which made a high-profile debut on Shanghai’s Star Market in December, posted a net profit of 612 million yuan (US$90.9 million) for the first six months, reversing a loss of 186 million yuan a year earlier.
Biren Technology chairman and CEO Zhang Wen at the company’s listing ceremony in Hong Kong, January 2, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Wong
First-half revenue jumped 44.7 per cent to 1.32 billion yuan, driven by widespread customer adoption and a sharp increase in GPU shipments, according to its stock exchange filing on Sunday evening.