【Hot Topics】
1. NVIDIA is actively advancing the porting of CUDA to the RISC-V architecture.
2. Cambricon plans to raise 3.985 billion yuan to enhance AI large model chips and software platforms.
3. Zhongwei Company: Expected net profit increase of 31.61%-41.28% in the first half of the year, with etching equipment revenue growth of 40.12%.
4. AMD launches Ryzen AI 5 330 mainstream mobile processor.
5. TSMC: Strong demand for AI continues, with moderate recovery in non-AI terminals this year.
1. NVIDIA is actively advancing the porting of CUDA to the RISC-V architecture.
NVIDIA’s Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Frans Sijstermans, revealed that NVIDIA is actively working on the porting of CUDA to the RISC-V architecture. This plan aims to bring complete CUDA acceleration capabilities to the RISC-V platform in the future, enhancing GPU parallel processing efficiency. Currently, CUDA is only deployed on x86 and ARM architectures.
He also stated that as early as 2017, NVIDIA co-hosted the first RISC-V workshop outside North America with Shanghai Jiao Tong University. At that time, NVIDIA had already taken the lead in applying RISC-V technology to embedded MCUs, and to date, NVIDIA’s integrated MCU products based on this architecture have shipped over one billion units.
2. Cambricon plans to raise 3.985 billion yuan to enhance AI large model chips and software platforms.
On July 17, Cambricon announced an adjustment to its plan for issuing A-shares to specific targets for the year 2025. According to the latest plan, Cambricon intends to issue no more than 20.9175 million shares, raising a total of no more than 398.53273 million yuan.
The announcement stated that after deducting issuance costs, the raised funds will mainly be used for chip platform projects aimed at large models, software platform projects aimed at large models, and to supplement working capital.
Cambricon has developed a series of excellent intelligent processors and chip products, including the Cambricon 1A, Cambricon 1H, and Cambricon 1M series intelligent processors for terminal scenarios; cloud intelligent acceleration card products based on the Siyuan 100, Siyuan 270, Siyuan 290, and Siyuan 370 chips; and edge intelligent acceleration cards based on the Siyuan 220 chip.
This fundraising project is aimed at the development needs of large model technology and applications, based on the hardware architecture characteristics of Cambricon’s intelligent chips, focusing on optimization strategies, software algorithms, and innovative research on software tools in key demand areas such as high parallelism, high computational efficiency, and high storage efficiency for large model technology; and building a software platform for large models that will cover three main functional modules: flexible compilation system, training platform, and inference platform, to enhance the usability and adaptability of intelligent chips, supporting the entire business process from algorithm development to application deployment for large models. Through the construction of this project, Cambricon can also build an open and user-friendly software platform for the vast artificial intelligence industry.
3. Zhongwei Company: Expected net profit increase of 31.61%-41.28% in the first half of the year, with etching equipment revenue growth of 40.12%.
Zhongwei Company announced that it expects the net profit attributable to the parent company for the first half of 2025 to be between 680 million and 730 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.61%-41.28%. During the reporting period, the company’s operating revenue is approximately 4.961 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 43.88%, with significant growth in revenue from etching equipment and LPCVD film equipment. It is expected that the operating revenue for the second quarter will be approximately 2.787 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 51.26%.
The growth in performance is mainly attributed to the increase in gross profit driven by revenue growth, a significant increase in R&D investment, and growth in returns from equity investments.
By business segment, in the first half of the year, Zhongwei Company’s etching equipment revenue grew by approximately 40.12%, reaching 3.781 billion yuan; LPCVD film equipment revenue grew by approximately 608.19%, reaching 199 million yuan. Zhongwei Company’s high-end etching equipment has achieved large-scale production in key process links for advanced logic chips and memory chip manufacturing, driving continuous performance growth.
In terms of R&D expenditure, Zhongwei Company’s R&D investment in the first half of the year was approximately 1.492 billion yuan, an increase of 521 million yuan year-on-year, a year-on-year increase of about 53.70%. In the first half of the year, R&D investment accounted for approximately 30.07% of total operating revenue, far exceeding the average R&D investment level of companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (10%-15%).
4. AMD launches Ryzen AI 5 330 mainstream mobile processor.
Recently, AMD launched the Ryzen AI 5 330, a mainstream mobile processor model aimed at mainstream price points, supporting Microsoft Copilot+. This processor features a slim CPU combination but is equipped with a fully functional NPU, capable of locally accelerating Copilot+ and other edge AI use cases.
The processor’s TDP can be configured from 15W to 28W, allowing it to fit the size of most mainstream laptops while minimizing heat dissipation requirements. The NPU is a fully functional XDNA 2 unit with a computing power of 50 TOPS, fully meeting the requirements of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC.
The AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is a quad-core processor with a working frequency of 2.0 GHz to 4.50 GHz, equipped with an AMD Radeon 820M integrated GPU, featuring 128 stream processors (two GPU clusters) and an NPU with a processing capacity of 50 TOPS per second. Like other members of the Ryzen AI 300 series, the 330 model is equipped with a dual-channel DDR5 memory controller, but unlike other CPUs in this series, this new processor’s TDP (cTDP) can be configured between 15W and 28W.
5. TSMC: Strong demand for AI continues, with moderate recovery in non-AI terminals this year.
TSMC stated at its earnings call yesterday that it has not seen any changes in customer behavior for the second half of the year, but is aware of uncertainties and risks related to tariff policies, especially for consumer-related and price-sensitive terminal markets; in the face of unclear situations, it will cautiously monitor potential tariff-related impacts.
TSMC also sees continued strong demand for AI in the market, including increasing demand from Sovereign AI. Therefore, TSMC expects that supported by strong demand for 3nm and 5nm technologies, along with the growth of high-performance computing platforms, the revenue outlook for the entire year of 2025 is expected to grow by about 30% in dollar terms.
TSMC pointed out that subsidy programs in mainland China are stimulating some “short-term” demand increases, so it still expects the overall non-AI terminal market to recover moderately in 2025, believing that the demand for semiconductors is fundamental and that this demand trend will remain strong.
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