TECH

Chinese GPU Maker MetaX Doubles Revenue Amid Push for Domestic Chips

Published: Mar. 26, 2026 11:45 p.m. GMT+8

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Metax Integrated Circuits Co. Ltd. released its first annual report since listing. Photo: IC Photo

Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker MetaX Inc. said revenue more than doubled in 2025, driven by strong sales of its graphics processing units as Chinese firms look for alternatives to U.S. technology constrained by export controls, according to the company’s first annual report since its IPO.

Revenue jumped 121.3% from a year earlier to 1.6 billion yuan ($230 million), the company said in a filing released Thursday evening. MetaX posted a net loss attributable to shareholders, excluding nonrecurring items, of 830 million yuan, narrowing by 210 million yuan from the prior year.

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MetaX Inc.’s 2025 revenue rose 121.3% to 1.6 billion yuan ($230 million), but it posted a net loss of 830 million yuan.
Sales of C-series GPUs grew 147.3% to 33,600 units; new C600 and C700 chips are set for mass production in 2026 and 2027.
Intense competition persists as US export curbs limit foreign chip access, with domestic rivals and tech giants like Alibaba ramping up production.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Moore Threads Intelligent Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd.: Moore Threads Intelligent Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. is a Chinese AI chip startup. It has a market capitalization of 262.5 billion yuan and has recently pursued listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong. It is considered a rival to MetaX Inc.

Biren Technology: Biren Technology is an artificial intelligence chip startup. It is mentioned as a rival to MetaX Inc. and has recently pursued a listing in Shanghai or Hong Kong, similar to other Chinese AI chip companies.

Iluvatar CoreX: Iluvatar CoreX (天数智芯) is a Chinese artificial intelligence chip startup. It is mentioned as a rival to MetaX and has recently pursued a listing in Shanghai or Hong Kong, indicating its ambition in the competitive AI chip market.

Nvidia: Nvidia is a US company whose advanced chips have faced export restrictions to China. The US restrictions have created a domestic market in China for alternative AI hardware. Despite these restrictions, the Trump administration in December 2025 allowed Nvidia to sell its less powerful H200 chips to China. However, Nvidia's CFO noted future revenue from these sales remains uncertain.

Alibaba Group: Alibaba Group's chip unit, T-Head, has shipped 470,000 chips as of February, with over 60% going to external commercial customers. This was announced by Alibaba Group's Chief Executive Eddie Wu on March 19.

MetaX Inc.: MetaX Inc., a Chinese AI chipmaker founded by former AMD executives, saw its revenue more than double to 1.6 billion yuan in 2025. This growth was driven by strong sales of its C-series GPUs, particularly the C500, amidst U.S. export controls. The company is developing "all-domestic" chips, including the C600 for 2026 and the C700 by 2027, to compete with Nvidia.

Advanced Micro Devices: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is mentioned as the former employer of the executives who founded MetaX Inc. MetaX, a Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker, was established in September 2020 by these former AMD executives.

Donghai Securities: Donghai Securities is mentioned in the article in the context of analyzing MetaX's financial performance. Specifically, Donghai Securities suggested that MetaX's significant increase in inventory at the end of 2025 might indicate efforts to meet strong demand and enhance supply-chain resilience.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

September 2020：: MetaX was founded by former Advanced Micro Devices executives.

November 2024：: U.S. ban prevented MetaX from placing additional production orders for the C500 series with its contract manufacturer.

Late 2025：: MetaX's next-generation C600 training-and-inference GPU began pilot production.

December 17, 2025：: MetaX listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market.

End of 2025：: MetaX's inventory stood at 1.5 billion yuan, up 92.6%.

December 2025：: The Trump administration allowed Nvidia to sell its less powerful H200 chips to China.

February 2026：: As of February 2026, Alibaba's chip unit T-Head had shipped 470,000 chips, with more than 60% going to external commercial customers.