Photo via South China Morning Post

China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue?

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
Cite

Cao, A. (2026, November 6). China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue? South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3373532/chinas-ai-chipmakers-report-first-profits-will-trend-continue

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-11-06 · by Ann Cao

Quick Summary

China’s AI chipmakers recently reported their first profits in the third quarter, marking a significant milestone for companies like Moore Threads, MetaX, and Iluvatar CoreX. However, rising memory costs and supply chain issues are causing concerns among investment banks about sustained profitability. These domestic firms are trying to capitalize on the void left by restricted US exports of Nvidia’s high-end processors, aiming to secure clients in enterprise markets and major cloud service providers within China.
Written by AI on 2026-11-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In the third quarter of 2026, China's pure-play artificial intelligence chipmakers reported their first profits, marking a significant milestone despite facing severe supply chain hurdles and soaring memory costs. Companies like Moore Threads, MetaX, and Iluvatar CoreX are trying to fill the market gap left by Nvidia, whose high-end processors are restricted due to strict US export controls. These domestic firms aim to capture a share of the lucrative enterprise client base and major cloud service providers within China, but analysts warn that sky-high memory costs could hinder their long-term growth prospects.

Written for “China AI Chip Profits Grow” on 2026-11-06, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 China AI Chip Profits Grow
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Semafor
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different but related events: one about Chinese AI chipmakers reporting profits despite supply chain issues, and another about Nvidia chips being held up in Hong Kong due to Chinese approval restrictions.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
2
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 2 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
62/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3912 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ann Cao
18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue?
🔮 Apple Intelligence to roll out on iPhones in China in December with Alibaba backing Alibaba’s flagship AI model Qwen will be integrated into Apple Intelligence, after years of speculation and regulatory uncertainty
🔮 Alibaba Cloud founder says open-source, closed-source AI philosophies not at odds, calls for more Chinese cloud competition to strengthen industry Long before artificial intelligence became the next big thing in the tech industry, Wang Jian was crafting the foundational infrastructure that would eventually power it.
🔮 The deal will enable Tesla drivers to pay for parking from their in-car touchscreens, with more features to follow, Alipay says Tesla has agreed a deal to integrate Chinese fintech giant Ant Group’s Alipay digital payment software into its vehicles in China, as Elon Musk’s firm steps up efforts to offer localised smart features amid intense competition in the Chinese market. The agreement, signed on Tuesday, will see Tesla roll out an Alipay-powered smart parking service across its Chinese fleet, according to the fintech firm.
🔮 Following the transaction, Guosheng’s direct stake in Hua Hong Group would jump to 41.7 per cent from 15.3 per cent, while its indirect holding would rise to 10.2 per cent from 3.8 per cent.
🔮 When trading begins, CanSemi is expected to set a milestone for the Shenzhen exchange as the first pure-play wafer fabrication company to list on its Shenzhen’s tech-heavy ChiNext board.
🔮 Chinese AI chipmaker Hygon plots expansion from data centres to robotics New chip targets range of physical AI applications, where machines interact directly with their environments Chinese chipmaker Hygon Information Technology is set to release a new chip targeting physical-world applications including robotics, expanding from its current focus on data centres, according to Chinese media reports and company information. The new chip, an iteration of the company’s CPU1000 series, is designed to meet “low-power, embedded and edge computing requirements”, targeting a range of physical AI applications in sectors including robotics, machine vision and intelligent manufacturing, according to reports by business news outlet Jiemian News and state-backed newspaper China Securities Journal on Sunday.
🔮 The research team said the training method could eventually be extended to other types of medical imaging, calling the model “the world’s first expert-level generalist medical imaging model”.
🔮 Cloudy with a chance of Big Macs: McDonald’s and Meituan launch drone route in Shanghai Fast-food orders will soar through the Shanghai sky, quickly reaching designated kiosks along the West Bund, offering a new way to collect meals Shanghai’s bustling riverfront has become the latest testing ground for urban logistics technology, with McDonald’s and Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan joining forces to launch the country’s first catering brand-exclusive drone-delivery route.
🔮 These digital workers could then be put to work within any of China’s three major workplace communication platforms: Alibaba’s DingTalk, ByteDance’s Feishu and Tencent’s WeCom.
Also by Ann Cao
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by Ann Cao →

Topics

China Iluvatar CoreX MetaX Moore Threads Nvidia

Subjects

China GPE · 2× Moore Threads ORG · 1× Nvidia ORG · 1×

Narrative

Sky-high memory costs and other supply-chain difficulties lead major investment banks to pare margin forecasts China’s pure-play artificial intelligence chipmakers crossed an important milestone in the third quarter as several firms swung into profit, but severe supply chain hurdles and soaring memory costs cloud their long-term growth prospects. Domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) developers including Moore Threads, MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX are racing to fill the market void left by Nvidia, whose high-end processors face strict US export controls. These home-grown firms are competing fiercely to win over domestic enterprise clients and penetrate major cloud service providers (CSPs).
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-06
🔮 China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue?
2026-11-06 · South China Morning Post
China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue? · assertive framing

Claims (2 extracted, 0 hedged)

China’s AI chipmakers report first profits, but will the trend continue? asserted
trend → report → profits
Sky-high memory costs and other supply-chain difficulties lead major investment banks to pare margin forecasts China’s pure-play artificial intelligence chipmakers crossed an important milestone in the third quarter as several firms swung into profit, but severe supply chain hurdles and soaring memory costs cloud their long-term growth prospects. Domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) developers including Moore Threads, MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX are racing to fill the market void left by Nvidia, whose high-end processors face strict US export controls. These home-grown firms are competing fiercely to win over domestic enterprise clients and penetrate major cloud service providers (CSPs). asserted
firms → lead → providers
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support