China is accelerating efforts to build a self-reliant artificial-intelligence semiconductor supply chain after U.S. export controls sharply curtailed access to Nvidia Corp.’s most advanced processors. Beijing is championing domestic chipmakers such as Cambricon Technologies and Huawei Technologies, whose products are becoming the preferred choice for Chinese cloud and AI developers as government agencies and state-backed investors channel funding toward local alternatives. The Financial Times reports that chipmakers aim to triple China’s total output of AI processors next year. Three new fabrication plants focused on Huawei’s chips are scheduled to begin production by the end of 2026, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. plans to double its 7-nanometre capacity, freeing space for designers including Cambricon, Biren and MetaX. Cambricon has already secured regulatory approval to raise about US$600 million, and its Shanghai-listed shares, along with those of SMIC, have rallied on the capacity-expansion news. Nvidia’s retreat has been swift. The U.S. company halted production of its China-specific H20 chip after Beijing discouraged purchases and Washington imposed a 15 per cent levy on its Chinese sales. Analysts estimate Nvidia generated roughly US$5.5 billion, or 13 per cent of revenue, from China in the April quarter, a figure expected to drop close to zero in its July period. Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek is helping knit the local ecosystem together by shifting its large-language-model training to an FP8 data format optimised for domestic hardware such as Huawei’s 910D and Cambricon’s 690 processors. Executives involved in the push say that, if successful, the alignment between home-grown chips and software could mark a turning point in China’s bid to challenge Nvidia’s dominance.