by SHEN Xiaoge

On January 19, the Hurun Research Institute released the 2025 Hurun China Top 50 Artificial Intelligence Enterprises, ranking Chinese companies whose core businesses focus on AI computing power or algorithms. AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies topped the list with a valuation of 630 billion yuan, up 165% from a year earlier. Moore Threads ranked second with a valuation of 310 billion yuan, followed by MetaX in third place at 250 billion yuan.

Founded in 2016 and spun out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology, Cambricon was listed on China's A-share market in 2020 as the country's first publicly traded AI chip company. The firm focuses on cloud–edge–device integrated AI chips with coordinated software and hardware design, offering its MLU architecture chips, accelerator cards, complete systems and the Cambricon Neuware software stack. In the first half of 2025, Cambricon reported revenue of 2.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 43 times.

Moore Threads and MetaX, both founded in 2020, took the second and third spots. Moore Threads focuses on full-function GPU development and listed in 2025, posting a 182% year-on-year revenue increase in the first three quarters. MetaX has achieved full-process localization in high-end GPUs, with more than 28,000 units of its C500 series chips delivered and outstanding orders totaling 1.43 billion yuan.

iFlytek ranked fourth with a valuation of 130 billion yuan, maintaining its position as a benchmark in intelligent speech, while Horizon Robotics placed fifth at 120 billion yuan, retaining its lead in automotive AI chips and autonomous driving solutions.

The latest ranking shows several clear trends. Eighteen companies are new entrants, accounting for more than one-third of the list, with 10 of them related to AI chips. AI chip companies occupy seven of the top 10 positions, including Horizon Robotics, Rockchip, Biren Technology and VeriSilicon.

Beijing leads by number of companies, with 19 firms on the list, including Cambricon, Moonshot AI and Unisound. Shanghai follows with 14 companies, up five from last year, including MetaX and SenseTime. Shenzhen has six companies, such as Intellifusion, Orbbec and XtalPi, while Guangzhou has four, led by Pony.ai and WeRide.

Overall, companies based in first-tier cities account for more than 80% of those listed, underscoring their dominant position and clustering effect in China's AI sector. The ranking spans multiple segments, including intelligent speech, autonomous driving and computer vision, reflecting a more balanced industrial layout. The companies are also relatively young, with an average age of just 12 years; six firms founded after 2021, including Moonshot AI and Baichuan AI, made the cut.

Of the 50 companies, 21 are unlisted. The minimum valuation for inclusion rose to 9.5 billion yuan, up 3.5 billion yuan from last year, while the threshold for the top 10 climbed to 73 billion yuan, more than three times the previous level of 22 billion yuan. The average valuation reached 54 billion yuan, 2.4 times that of a year earlier.

Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief research officer of Hurun Report, said AI was reshaping China's wealth landscape. Entrepreneurs primarily engaged in AI now account for about 9% of those on the Hurun Rich List, he said. The fortune of Cambricon founder Chen Tianshi, 40, rose by nearly 150 billion yuan from a year earlier, placing him among the top 20 on the latest ranking.