China unveils first AI chip with software-defined and 3D near-memory computing

On July 13, China's first AI chip using software-defined and 3D near-memory computing technology debuted in Shanghai. Based on a 14nm process, the chip delivers 520 trillion floating-point operations per second, breaking away from reliance on advanced manufacturing through architectural innovation.

The chip's software-defined tech allows hardware resources to adjust dynamically for different tasks, boosting efficiency. Its 3D vertical stacking integrates computing and memory units tightly, achieving a memory bandwidth of 6.4 TB/s and easing the "memory wall" bottleneck. A full software toolchain supports major deep learning frameworks, with products ranging from single accelerators to large-scale computing clusters.

Industry experts say this marks a shift from process chasing to architectural innovation in China's high-end chip sector, strengthening the foundation for AI computing power.