(Yicai) May 6 -- Chinese developer of artificial intelligence chips Cambricon Technologies said it plans to raise CNY5 billion (USD693 million) through a private placement of shares to finance new projects and software products.

The move aims to strengthen Cambricon's research and development capabilities by enhancing its design capacities of AI chips for large language models and related software's technological reserves, the Beijing-based company announced late on April 30, just before the five-day Labor Day break.

From the proceeds, CNY2.9 billion will be used for building an LLM chip platform project, CNY1.6 billion for developing related software platforms, and the rest for supplementing Cambricon's working capital, the company noted.

The evolution of LLM tech has imposed new requirements on smart chips, so the project aims to develop a series of chips applicable to different types of LLM tasks, including training and inference, Cambricon noted, adding that the goal is to achieve innovative breakthroughs in smart processor technology.

The project also plans to set up an advanced packaging technology platform, which will enable flexible and efficient differentiation in the packaging of chips for various application scenarios, Cambricon said. This will enhance the adaptability of the company's smart computing hardware products to the needs of future LLM applications, it added.

Last month, Cambricon reported a net profit of CNY355 million (USD49.2 million) in the three months ended March 31, compared with a net loss of CNY227 million a year earlier, staying in the black for the second straight quarter after logging a net loss last year. Its revenue surged 4230 percent to CNY1.1 billion, mainly thanks to the application and implementation of its products in the AI sector.

Shares of Cambricon [SHA: 688256] closed 0.5 percent higher at CNY707.22 (USD98.02) each in Shanghai today. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board 50 Index, the first risk management tool of the bourse's Nasdaq-like Star Market, climbed 1.4 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev