On October 14, the Shanghai Municipal Government issued the “Action Plan for High-Quality Development of the Intelligent Terminal Industry in Shanghai (2026-2027)”.
The document clearly states the need to accelerate the layout of core chips such as SoC and CPU, covering the three major technology routes of X86, ARM, and RISC-V, and actively develop edge GPUs and breakthrough 3D heterogeneous integration and other cutting-edge technologies.
Technical Interpretation: Understanding the “technical codes” in the news.
1. “The Heart of the Digital World”: What are SoC, CPU, and the three major technology routes?
One can imagine a smartphone or a computer as a modern city.
CPU (Central Processing Unit): is like the “Mayor’s Office” of this city, responsible for core decision-making, scheduling, and logical operations; all important instructions must go through it.
SoC (System on Chip): is the “miniature model of the entire city”; it not only includes the Mayor’s Office (CPU) but also integrates all key departments such as the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), signal tower (baseband), memory warehouse (memory controller), and transportation network (various interfaces) onto a small chip; the smooth operation and efficient photography of our phones are thanks to the highly integrated SoC chip.
The X86, ARM, and RISC-V architectures are three different planning blueprints or building codes for constructing this “city”.
X86 architecture: is like the classical and grand European architectural standards; it has powerful performance and has been the absolute king in the personal computer and server fields for decades, dominated by Intel and AMD.
ARM architecture: is akin to modern, efficient modular building standards; it focuses more on energy efficiency and excels in delivering outstanding performance within limited space and power consumption, thus dominating the smartphone and tablet markets. Apple’s M chips and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips are based on this.
RISC-V architecture: is a completely open-source, free “open-source building code”; any country or company can freely use and modify it without paying high licensing fees. It is seen as a “historic opportunity” for China to break the technological monopoly and achieve chip autonomy.
The Shanghai plan aims for “full coverage” of these three routes, which means we will not give up on the existing market and will also seize future opportunities, combining “stability in the present” with “planning for the future”.
2. Future Trends: “Edge AI” and “Chip Black Technology”
The “Edge AI” mentioned in the plan is a core direction; it refers to enabling terminal devices to possess strong AI processing capabilities without needing to upload everything to the cloud.
Benefits: faster response (e.g., mobile voice assistants responding immediately), greater privacy (data remains local), and more stable usage (not reliant on the network); this requires chips to provide powerful AI computing power.
To enhance computing power and reduce power consumption, the plan also highlights several “chip black technologies”.
3D Heterogeneous Integration: Traditional chips are flat; now, like building skyscrapers, different process chips such as CPU, GPU, and memory are stacked together, greatly shortening the “transportation distance” and improving efficiency.
In-memory Computing: This is a disruptive idea. It attempts to perform calculations directly within the “warehouse” of data storage, completely avoiding the back-and-forth movement of data between the “warehouse” and the “Mayor’s Office”, specifically designed for the massive data calculations of AI, achieving extremely high energy efficiency.
The Shanghai plan provides a clear development path and broad growth space for a number of companies deeply engaged in related fields within the A-share market.
This issue will outline companies with core technologies and market positions in the key directions of the plan for reference and research.
1. Rockchip
A leading domestic AIoT SoC chip manufacturer, it is the main control SoC core supplier for AIoT, smart speakers, and other terminals, and is also actively expanding applications in AI glasses and other fields.
2. Hengxuan Technology
A core supplier of main control SoC for AIoT, smart speakers, and AI glasses; it has laid out early in the smart glasses field, and its chips support localized voice command recognition and real-time data processing, adapting to endurance needs in complex scenarios.
3. Allwinner Technology
A core supplier of main control SoC for AIoT, smart speakers, and AI glasses; the company continues to promote RISC-V architecture chip development, with a shipment volume exceeding 100 million units in 2024, a gross margin of 45%-50%, and is beginning to research the next generation of higher-performance SoC architecture to meet high-end market demands.
4. Chipone Technology
A leading company in the domestic semiconductor IP licensing field; it has over 20 RISC-V IP products covering AI, automotive electronics, industrial control, etc., and is the world’s first RISC-V IP company to pass ISO 26262 ASIL-D automotive certification.
5. Beijing Junzheng
A founding member of the China RISC-V Industry Alliance, its microprocessor technology is leading.
6. Jingjia Micro
A domestic leader in independent GPU design, its products are expanding from graphics display control to more potential general computing fields, making it a dual-core target for edge GPU layout and domestic substitution.
7. Goertek
Goertek is a global leader in smart acoustics and wearable hardware manufacturing, deeply tied to global tech giants, benefiting from the surge in AI terminals.
8. Tianshan Electronics
Investments in phase change memory (PCM) align with the direction of “new storage”.
9. Changdian Technology
A global leader in chip packaging and testing, with a deep layout in advanced packaging technologies such as 3D heterogeneous integration.
Original content is not easy; please like and follow, your support is my greatest motivation for daily updates:
Disclaimer: The article’s materials are cited from official media and public information and do not constitute investment advice. Market risks exist, and investment is a comprehensive game of various factors, requiring rational and independent thinking.