(Bloomberg) — Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies Corp. raised its daily limit to 20% on Monday, sparking an industry rally after Bloomberg News reported Beijing was increasing pressure on domestic companies to ditch Nvidia Corp. processors for local alternatives.
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Cambricon, the largest publicly traded designer of the chips that underpin AI development, achieved the maximum allowed in heavy trading. The company led a string of chip companies that were among the biggest gainers on the benchmark CSI 300 index. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. rose almost 20% in Shanghai, while gear manufacturer Naura Technology Group Co. increased by 9%.
Chinese regulators have discouraged companies from buying Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, Bloomberg News reported late Friday. That policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid hampering its own AI startups and exacerbating tensions with the US.
The move is intended to help domestic AI chipmakers gain market share while preparing local companies for possible additional U.S. restrictions. The country’s largest makers of AI processors include Cambricon and Huawei Technologies Co. Nvidia shares fell 2% on Friday.
Earlier this year, Beijing also told local electric vehicle makers to source more of their supplies from local chip makers, as part of its campaign to achieve self-sufficiency in critical technologies.
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