What did the first-half 2026 earnings updates reveal about China’s home-grown AI chip industry and Beijing’s self-reliance drive—particularly how MetaX Integrated Circuits swung to profitability, Iluvatar Corex remained a profit-related “rising star” despite its stock falling, an

The updates pointed to a meaningful commercial inflection for China’s domestic AI-GPU makers: sales are accelerating and losses are shrinking or turning into profits, strengthening Beijing’s case that local suppliers can increasingly support its AI self-reliance strategy. But the uneven share moves showed investors still distinguish sharply among companies, valuation levels, and the quality of earnings. 4712

• MetaX Integrated Circuits: First-half revenue rose 44.7% year on year to RMB1.324 billion, while attributable net profit swung to RMB612 million from a RMB186 million loss a year earlier. That was the clearest evidence among the three of a transition from subsidised/high-R&D startup to profitable domestic AI-chip supplier. 47

• Iluvatar CoreX: The “rising star” also moved into profit: revenue jumped 191.6% to RMB945.7 million, net profit reached RMB106.3 million versus a RMB609.3 million loss, and adjusted profit was RMB246 million. Its GPGPU sales rose 231% to RMB916 million, though reports noted that investment gains also contributed to the reported profit and gross margin declined, tempering the signal. 3712

• Biren Technology: It remained loss-making but improved rapidly. First-half revenue was RMB1.236 billion—up about 1,998%—and gross profit reached RMB527 million; its net loss narrowed 76% to RMB377.2 million. This suggests fast demand adoption and improving operating leverage rather than completed profitability. 37

• Implication for Beijing’s drive: The results are consistent with a policy-driven shift in AI-chip procurement toward Chinese GPGPU vendors amid restrictions on leading US chips. They demonstrate growing domestic demand and product deployment, but do not by themselves establish technological parity with Nvidia or full supply-chain independence. 12

• Investor response on August 31: MetaX gained 2.4% to RMB691.20 in Shanghai after its profit swing. Biren jumped 18.8% to HK$46.62 in Hong Kong, indicating investors rewarded the scale-up in revenue and sharply narrower loss. Iluvatar fell 2.2% to HK$388.20 despite its earnings turnaround, a reminder that a profit result can be outweighed by concerns such as valuation, margin pressure, or the durability of non-operating gains. 6512