A domestic AI chip push by China looked to be bearing fruit, with various reports local manufacturer Cambricon Technologies is cresting a wave of anti-Nvidia moves and separate details of progress by Huawei involving server silicon.

Bloomberg reported Cambricon Technologies’ share price was flying today (30 September) as part of a broader upturn in China’s chip sector driven by renewed pressure by authorities over dropping Nvidia silicon.

The news outlet stated Cambricon Technologies performed at the top of the level permitted in a day of substantial trading for chip stocks. Semiconductor Manufacturing International was among the other companies to also ride the wave, Bloomberg stated.

China proved a weak point in an otherwise strong 2023 for Nvidia, with progress in AI chips fuelling a surge in its value so-far in 2024.

The US-headquartered company is out of favour in China due to an ongoing spat between the nations which has seen the former impose various trade restrictions, some of which cover the equipment required to manufacture silicon.

Huawei has been a key target of the US moves but, like its domestic peers, seems to have found ways to work around the blocks to produce its own AI silicon for smartphones and more.

South China Morning Post reported Huawei continued this drive by commencing shipments of sample quantities of its AI-imbibed Ascend 910C server processor.

The newspaper linked Huawei’s sampling to the shift away from Nvidia chips and China’s broader move to be self-sufficient in silicon.

China renewed its backing for domestic chip makers in May when it unveiled a CNY344 billion ($49.1 billion) investment fund, its third such move in the past decade.