China's semiconductor design firm Loongson Technology has surpassed 1 million shipments of its flagship desktop processor, accelerating the country's push for semiconductor self-reliance.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Thursday that Chinese-made central processing units (CPUs) have moved beyond the pilot and distribution phase to enter full-scale commercialization.
"The 3A6000 processor is an in-house developed chip for desktop personal computers (PCs)," Loongson said. "The chip delivers performance similar to Intel desktop CPUs launched in 2020."
Loongson was established in 2001 as a research project under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and spun off as a company in 2010. It went public on Shanghai's STAR Market in 2022 and is one of the firms the Chinese government is intensively nurturing to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor technology.
Loongson posted revenue of 635.3 million yuan last year, up 26 percent from the previous year. Net loss narrowed to 455.1 million yuan from 625.3 million yuan.
China's semiconductor localization strategy extends beyond processors. "The Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory recently announced that it had successfully stabilized production of advanced KrF photoresist resin by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) decision-making systems and automated synthesis technology," the SCMP reported. "KrF photoresist is a core material in semiconductor manufacturing that has been dominated by a handful of overseas suppliers, and China is seeking to narrow the technology gap across the entire semiconductor supply chain, including materials and equipment, not just finished chips."
