Brothers Chen Yunji and
Chen Tianshi entered the
University of Science and Technology of China at an early age and received their
doctorate degrees in
computer science by the time they were 24. They then worked for the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) with a focus on computing technology. The two were part of the Cambricon project which is named after the
Cambrian explosion. The project formed in 2008 aimed to develop a brain-inspired processor chip specialized for
deep learning. CAS set aside 10 million yuan to fund the project. In March 2016, the Cambricon project was spun out as a business. The brothers co-founded the company Cambricon which was set up to bring chips from the Cambricon project to the commercial market. Yunji returned to academia shortly after the company’s founding. In June 2018, Cambricon was valued at US$2.5 billion making it one of China's most valuable AI
startups. Early investors included
Alibaba Group,
Lenovo and
iFlytek. By then it had produced AI chips to power smartphones and servers for large companies such as
Huawei although the contact was terminated that year when Huawei decided to use its own AI chips from its subsidiary,
HiSilicon which greatly affected Cambricon's revenue. On 20 July 2020, Cambricon held its
initial public offering (IPO) becoming a listed company on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market. There were concerns about Cambricon 's prospects due to increasing competition in the field of AI chips as well as US sanctions. Despite this, the company had a strong debut with its share price rising 230% above its listing price valuing the company at US$12 billion. Overall the IPO raised $369 million. In July 2023, Cambricon laid off half its workers at its
autonomous car chip unit SingGo due to cost cutting measures. In February 2024, Cambricon reported an annual net loss for 2023 making it the seventh consecutive year of losses for the company although its losses were less than 2022. Due to US sanctions, the company struggled with access to advanced manufacturing processes making its products less competitive. The chips having inferior performance made it difficult to achieve widespread adoption. Cambricon had to heavily rely on government-affiliated clients for its revenue which was stable but not sufficient for sustained significant revenue growth. During 2024, Cambricon shares rose 383% making it China's top stock in 2024. In January 2025, it was reported that Cambricon achieved its first-ever quarterly profit in late 2024. In February 2026, Cambricon announced it would pay its maiden dividends after its first profitable year. ==See also==