China CPU: Hygon - the key China beneficiary for the CPU renaissance

Research evidence excerpt

China CPU: Hygon - the key China beneficiary for the CPU renaissance

3 July 2026

China Semiconductors

China CPU: Hygon - the key China beneficiary for the CPU

renaissance

Agentic AI is leading to a new ear that we call “The CPU Renaissance”. Within China, we Qingyuan Lin, Ph.D.

+852 2123 2654 like Hygon’s unique position as the only alternative x86 server CPU vendor to Intel/AMD,

qingyuan.lin@bernsteinsg.com allowing the company to gain share in China for the next five years. We discuss the market

opportunity and tech comparison for Hygon in this report, our China x86 server CPU model

Francis Ma can be downloaded here. Outperform on Hygon, PT CNY 450.

+852 2123 2626

francis.ma@bernsteinsg.com

Agentic AI is driving the expansion of global server CPU TAM, creating a much larger

Kai Zhang opportunity for Hygon than investors currently appreciate. We estimate global server

+852 2123 2665 CPU TAM will expand from roughly US$39bn in 2025 to US$223bn by 2030, as agentic

kai.zhang@bernsteinsg.com AI shifts data-center architectures from being GPU-centric to increasingly CPU-intensive.

We expect the CPU:GPU ratio to gradually move from 1:8 now to 1:1 in 2030. Within China,

x86 server CPU TAM is expected to increase from US$7bn in 2025 to US$27bn by 2030.

While growth may lag global markets from 2025-28 due to supply constraints, we expect

a meaningful reacceleration from 2028 onward, as domestic supply capacity expands and

AIDC investment accelerates.

Accelerating localization and tightening supply of foreign CPUs should drive

substantial share gains for Hygon. China’s first wave of CPU localization was driven by

Xinchuang policies, where Hygon already enjoys a unique position as the only domestic

x86 server CPU provider.