Overview
Chinese makers of GPUs and AI accelerators captured nearly 41% of the AI accelerator server market in China last year, according to an IDC report reviewed by Reuters. That gain came as Beijing moved to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and steer public and private buyers toward domestic designs.
Market totals and leader positions
Overall shipments of AI accelerator cards by Nvidia, AMD and Chinese vendors in China reached approximately 4 million units in 2025. Nvidia remained the market leader, delivering about 2.2 million cards and holding an estimated 55% market share. This level of sales nevertheless represents a marked decline in Nvidia’s footprint in China compared with its previously dominant position.
AMD established a smaller presence in the market, shipping roughly 160,000 cards and accounting for an estimated 4% share.
Domestic supplier performance
Collectively, Chinese vendors shipped about 1.65 million AI accelerator cards, representing roughly 41% of total shipments in the Chinese market. Huawei Technologies was the largest domestic supplier by volume, shipping around 812,000 AI chips - about half of all domestically branded shipments. Alibaba’s chip design arm, T-Head, shipped approximately 265,000 cards.
Baidu’s Kunlunxin and Cambricon each shipped around 116,000 cards, placing them jointly behind Alibaba among Chinese vendors. Other contributors among domestic suppliers included Hygon and GPU start-ups MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX, which accounted for 5%, 4% and 3% respectively of total Chinese vendor shipments.
Policy and procurement context
The shift in vendor mix occurred as U.S. export controls progressively limited China’s access to Nvidia’s most advanced products, prompting government bodies and companies to consider local alternatives. In 2025, the central government rolled out a fresh wave of AI infrastructure spending, and local governments accelerated the construction of intelligent computing centers across provinces. Many of these projects contained implicit directives to buy domestically produced equipment.
Implications
The IDC figures reflect a rapid expansion of domestic supply to meet demand inside China, while Nvidia remains the largest single supplier despite a reduced share. The market changes align closely with procurement incentives and limits on access to advanced foreign chips.