(Yicai) April 30 -- Cambricon Technologies' shares jumped by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit to hit a record high after the Chinese maker of artificial intelligence chips said its net profit almost tripled in the first quarter, thanks to continuous growth in AI computing power demand.

Cambricon [SHA: 688256] closed 20 percent higher at CNY1,699.96 (USD248.70) a share in Shanghai today, surpassing its previous high of CNY1,595.88 from Aug. 27 last year. Its market capitalization reached CNY716.8 billion (USD104.9 billion).

Net profit surged 185 percent to CNY1 billion (USD146.2 million) in the three months ending March 31 from a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a financial report released yesterday. Revenue jumped 160 percent to CNY2.9 billion.

Cambricon expanded its market thanks to the superior competitiveness of its products amid a continuous rise in demand for computing power in the AI industry, it said. It also actively promoted the implementation of AI application scenarios, significantly lifting its revenue and profit, it added.

In addition, Cambricon's net cash inflow from operating activities topped CNY834 million (USD121.9 million) last quarter, reversing a net outflow of CNY1.4 billion a year earlier, thanks to the accelerated payment collection from customers, the company noted.

Established in 2016, Cambricon is known as "China's little Nvidia" due to its leading position in the Chinese AI chip sector. In recent years, as the country accelerated the process of replacing high-end chips with domestically produced alternatives, the company experienced sustained performance growth.

Cambricon posted its first annual profit last year, swinging into the black with a profit of CNY2.1 billion from a net loss of CNY452 million (USD66.1 million) in 2024. Revenue surged 453 percent to CNY6.5 billion.

Other Chinese AI chip developers have also seen a surge in performance. On April 26, Moore Threads Technology, which went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Star Market technology board at the end of last year, reported a profit of CNY29.4 million (USD4.3 million) in the first quarter, compared with a loss of CNY112 million a year ago, while its revenue soared 155 percent to CNY738 million.

In addition, the net loss of Metax Integrated Circuits, which also went public on the Star Market at the end of last year, narrowed 57 percent to CNY98.8 million (USD14.4 million), its earnings report showed yesterday. Its revenue rose 75 percent to CNY562 million.

Editor: Martin Kadiev