China’s ‘little Nvidia’ aspires to become ‘leading global player’ after shares soar 468%

Unlike Huawei, Moore Threads’ GPUs, along with its own MUSA platform, are compatible with Nvidia’s CUDA ecosystem

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Zhang Jianzhong, CEO of Moore Threads, speaks at a company product launch in Beijing, December 19, 2023. Photo: Handout

Published: 5:00pm, 5 Dec 2025

Moore Threads, a five-year-old graphics processing unit (GPU) developer created by Nvidia’s former China chief, aspires to become one of the leading global players in artificial intelligence chip development, its founder and CEO Zhang Jianzhong said.

Zhang, Nvidia’s China general manager from 2006 to 2020, was quoted as saying by the official Shanghai Securities Journal that the start-up would introduce a new-generation chip each year to provide key hardware for China’s AI development.

“Our goal is to become a leading GPU player with international competitiveness,” Zhang said. The interview was published on Friday, the day Moore Threads’ Shanghai-listed shares soared 468 per cent in its market debut, as Chinese investors scrambled to own a piece of what is considered the country’s best answer to Nvidia.

Zhang said it was vital for the Chinese government to keep supporting local GPU development.

A Moore Threads AI server on display at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, July 5, 2024. Photo: SCMP

“Policy support is a ‘booster’ for strategic hi-tech industries to make breakthroughs,” Zhang was quoted as saying. If the domestic supply chain can support locally developed GPUs, that would help improve the products and in turn drive the core competitiveness of China’s semiconductor industry, Zhang said.

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China’s ‘little Nvidia’ aspires to become ‘leading global player’ after shares soar 468%

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Unlike Huawei, Moore Threads’ GPUs, along with its own MUSA platform, are compatible with Nvidia’s CUDA ecosystem

Unlike Huawei, Moore Threads’ GPUs, along with its own MUSA platform, are compatible with Nvidia’s CUDA ecosystem