China’s chip champions channelled a larger proportion of revenue into research and development (R&D) than their US peers, first-quarter earnings show, as Beijing presses ahead with its tech self-reliance drive amid an artificial intelligence boom.Beijing-based Moore Threads spent half of its revenue on R&D in the quarter ended March 2026, while Shanghai-based MetaX spent 45 per cent over the same period, according to exchange filings.By contrast, US chipmakers such as AMD and Intel have typically spent between 20 and 30 per cent of their revenue on R&D in recent years.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS90
ENT8
WED · 2026-05-06 · 02:30 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0506-74035
NSR-2026-0506-74035News Report·EN·Technology
China’s chipmakers pour revenue into R&D, outpacing US ratios
Chinese chipmakers are significantly increasing their investment in research and development (R&D) as part of Beijing's push for technological self-reliance, particularly in the context of the AI boom. In the first quarter of 2026, companies like Moore Threads and MetaX dedicated approximately 50% and 45% of their revenue to R&D, respectively.
Eunice XuSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-05-06 · 02:30 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
90words
Sources cited
0cited
Entities identified
8entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Chinese chipmakers are significantly increasing their investment in research and development (R&D) as part of Beijing's push for technological self-reliance, particularly in the context of the AI boom. In the first quarter of 2026, companies like Moore Threads and MetaX dedicated approximately 50% and 45% of their revenue to R&D, respectively. This contrasts with US chip giants such as AMD and Intel, which have historically invested between 20% and 30% of their revenue in R&D. These figures highlight a strategic shift by Chinese firms to accelerate innovation and reduce dependence on foreign technology.
Confidence 0.85Claims 4Entities 8
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Technology
Economic Impact
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.90 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
0
No named sources
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
4 extracted01
China's chipmakers are channeling a larger proportion of revenue into R&D than their US peers.
statistic
Confidence
0.95
02
US chipmakers like AMD and Intel have typically spent between 20 and 30 per cent of their revenue on R&D in recent years.
statistic
Confidence
0.90
03
Shanghai-based MetaX spent 45 per cent of its revenue on R&D in the quarter ended March 2026.
statisticexchange filings
Confidence
0.90
04
Beijing-based Moore Threads spent half of its revenue on R&D in the quarter ended March 2026.
statisticexchange filings
Confidence
0.90
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 90 words§ 05
Entities
8 identified§ 06
Keywords & salience
10 termschipmakers
1.00
r&d spending
1.00
tech self-reliance
0.90
artificial intelligence
0.80
china
0.70
us
0.70
revenue
0.60
moore threads
0.50
metax
0.50
amd
0.40
§ 07
Topic connections
Interactive graph Network visualization showing 51 related topics
View Full Graph Person Organization Location Event|Click node to navigate|Edge numbers = shared articles