Sanctions made an AI billionaire out of Chinese prodigy

In 2019, Chen Tianshi was a long way from becoming one of the wealthiest people on the planet.

- BLOOMBERG

His three-year-old artificial intelligence chip startup’s largest customer, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., had abruptly cut off almost all business in favor of developing its own semiconductors. Until then, Huawei had been the source of over 95% of the company’s revenue.

But then he caught a break from an unexpected source. The U.S. decision to cut off China’s access to cutting-edge chips and Beijing’s determination to foster homegrown technology ultimately created a halo of state sponsorship and avast protected market for the computer prodigy’s company, which propelled him to become one of the world’s richest self-made billionaires.

Shares of his chip designer Cambricon Technologies have surged more than 765% over the last 24 months. His wealth, the majority of which is derived from his 28% stake in the Beijing-based producer of AI accelerators, has more than doubled to $22.5 billion since the beginning of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Chen's meteoric rise underscores how China’s robust support for its domestic AI industry is minting a new class of state-aligned tech elites just a few years after it cracked down on its private-sector titans. As Washington’s export bans choked China’s access to advanced chips, firms such as Chen’s Cambricon have emerged as national champions, shielded by policy mandates and investor zeal — symbols of a new industrial order where political favor, not market freedom, defines the winners.

Questions over how much the significant support from government protectionism — rather than the competitiveness of its chips — has contributed to Cambricon’s surge has divided observers over how long the run will last.

“Cambricon’s explosive revenue growth is mainly due to a low starting point, and its current valuation may be inflated without sustained policy support,” said Shen Meng, director at Beijing-based investment bank Chanson & Co.