Chen Tianshi, the 40-year-old founder and CEO of Beijing-based Cambricon Technologies, is now one of the 100 richest people in the world after his AI chip company, known in retail trading circles as “China’s Nvidia,” posted a monster third-quarter earnings report last week, including, most notably, a 14-fold jump in quarterly revenue. It reported a net profit of $79.6 million (567 million yuan), compared with a net loss of $27.2 million (194 million yuan) a year ago—a 1,332% jump.
As you might imagine, these explosive results have been a powder keg for Cambricon’s stock, which was up 15% through Wednesday, while also ballooning Chen’s net worth by about $2.4 billion. The Cambricon CEO is now worth about $24.1 billion, up from $21.7 billion last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Forbes. He is now No. 94 on the list of the 100 richest people in the world.
Cambricon’s tear is pretty indicative of China’s efforts to develop domestic alternatives to American semiconductors, given the escalating trade restrictions. Since 2022, the U.S. has banned exports of advanced AI chips—including Nvidia’s A100, H100, and H200—to China. But while Nvidia was able to get approval to sell its lower-performance H20 chip, designed specifically for the Chinese market, Beijing has raised security concerns and advised domestic companies to reduce their reliance on Nvidia products, which, in turn, has created opportunities for Chinese chipmakers.
