(JW Insights) Aug 2 -- Chinese chip maker Jingjia Microelectronics (景嘉微), which is under US sanctions, is planning to develop graphic processing units (GPUs) in Wuxi, eastern China's Jiangsu Province, in the latest sign of China's efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductors despite Washington's restrictions, reported South China Morning Post on July 31.

According to a statement issued by the Wuxi High-Tech District on July 30, which will host the project, an initial agreement was reached between the Shenzhen-listed company and the district. While the detailed investment size was not disclosed, the project is expected to generate RMB5 billion ($699 million) worth of output per year. The company earlier this year said it would raise RMB4.2 billion ($586.08 million) in private placement for GPU research and development.

Jingjia Micro claims to be China's leading developer of GPUs, although it lags far behind global peers such as Nvidia, the world's leading supplier of GPUs. The Chinese company's revenue in 2022 was only RMB1.2 billion ($168 million), a fraction of Nvidia's $27 billion annual revenue.

Based in Changsha, Hunan Province, Jingjia was added to the US Entity List in December 2021, denying it access to US technologies, including chip design software, without Washington's approval. At the time, Jingjia said its addition to the blacklist would not have a material impact on its operations.

Jingjia Micro's plan to tap into China's semiconductor supply chain to produce GPUs highlights the country's predicament in the aftermath of stringent US export controls targeting China's chip sector, said the SCMP report.

During the signing ceremony, Jingjia Micro's chairman and president Zeng Wanhui told Wuxi vice governor Zhou Wendong that the company would leverage Wuxi's strengths in the chip sector to “fully integrate the advantageous resources,” hoping for “early fruition” of the project in both “production and economic profits,” according to the statement.

Jiangjia Micro claims it owns intellectual property rights to high-performance GPUs used in applications from signal processing and storage to small-sized radar, according to information on its website, said the SCMP report.

(Li PP)