The Decline of Domestic X86 Chip Development in China: AMD, VIA, and Tianjin Haiguang

According to Tom's Hardware, at Computex 2019 AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed that AMD will no longer license its new X86 IP to the Chinese company Tianjin Haiguang, and that the X86 license held by domestic vendor Zhaoxin from VIA expired in April 2018, casting a bleak outlook for Chinese X86 chips.

Domestic X86 Technology Sources

Intel dominates the PC/server market with its X86 architecture, but Chinese manufacturers seeking market entry must obtain X86 licenses, which historically have come from Intel, AMD, and Taiwan's VIA.

Intel refuses to license X86 to mainland Chinese firms, leaving AMD and VIA as alternative sources.

AMD

In the early 1980s IBM adopted an open architecture and required its CPU suppliers to grant secondary licensing, leading Intel to authorize AMD to produce X86 processors, making AMD a backup supplier for IBM.

VIA

In 2009 the US FTC sued Intel for antitrust violations, resulting in a settlement that forced Intel to allow competitors like AMD, NVIDIA, and VIA greater freedom, including extending VIA's X86 license until April 2018.

After the settlement, VIA released products such as C3, C7, Eden, and Nano, but remained limited to the embedded market.

VIA and Shanghai Zhaoxin

In April 2013 a joint venture between Shanghai United Investment and VIA created Shanghai Zhaoxin, which obtained X86 licensing from VIA and received substantial government support, though its ZX series CPUs have been criticized as rebranded VIA products.

Recent Zhaoxin KX‑6000 series claim performance comparable to Intel's 7th‑gen Core i5‑7400.

However, with the VIA‑Intel X86 license expiring in April 2018, Zhaoxin can no longer use newer Intel patents, limiting future upgrades.

AMD and Tianjin Haiguang

In 2016 AMD formed a joint venture with Tianjin Haiguang (THATIC) to use AMD's X86 technology and SoC IP, receiving $293 million in cash and royalties. AMD's original X86 license with Intel does not permit third‑party sublicensing, but AMD argued its agreement with Haiguang complied with US export regulations.

The joint venture quickly released products based on AMD's first‑generation Ryzen and EPYC Zen architecture, with a 32‑core, 64‑thread server CPU already taped‑out, though external observers view these chips as rebranded AMD designs.

AMD confirmed at Computex that Haiguang's access is limited to first‑generation Zen; the newer Zen 2 architecture is not licensed, meaning Haiguang will not receive future X86 patents or SoC IP, casting further doubt on its prospects.

Conclusion

The experience of Zhaoxin and Haiguang shows that forming joint ventures with foreign X86 owners to obtain technology while providing market access often leads to dead‑ends, especially as ARM and RISC‑V architectures gain traction and erode X86’s dominance in PCs and servers.

Edited by: Xinzhixun – Wanderer Sword

Source: Compiled from the web