China is developing a domestic 7nm gaming GPU expected to arrive in 2025.

According to various reports, MetaX Tech (known locally as 慕曦), a Chinese graphics accelerator technology company, will have a gaming GPU ready for the domestic market by 2025. In a recent media interview, Dr. Yang Jian, the company's co-founder, CTO, and chief software architect, discussed MetaX's GPU roadmap and its high-performance GPUs designed to compete with foreign competitors. MetaX is currently making excellent progress in both funding and development. Earlier this year, the company's heterogeneous 7nm GPU completed tape-out and was ready for manufacturing, with production expected to begin shortly. The company's second flagship GPU, designed for scientific computing, AI inference, and data center applications, is now in the final stages of development and is planned for mass production in 2024.

However, neither of these products fulfills MetaX's goal of becoming a Chinese producer of high-performance GPUs that can fully compete with foreign flagship products. According to Dr. Yang, such a product is necessary because China's GPU market accounts for 40% of global consumption. Unlike some other Chinese GPU makers, MetaX products feature self-developed core IP, independently designed GPU architecture, and a proprietary instruction set. This philosophy contrasts with Innosilicon, whose advanced Fantasy GPUs were recently confirmed to be based on Imagination Technologies' PowerVR technology.

To establish itself as a leading Chinese GPU pioneer, MetaX's next step is to complete development of a comprehensive GPU that will accelerate not only general GPU computing and AI/scientific computing applications, but also graphics rendering. By 2025, MetaX plans to have a fully functional gaming GPU ready for launch. According to the MetaX website, this gaming GPU line will carry the "MXG" brand designation.

The MetaX engineering team primarily comprises former AMD engineers. Moore Threads' GPU development efforts are led primarily by former NVIDIA engineers. Other Chinese companies developing GPUs include Innosilicon and Zhaoxin, which is developing the GlenFly GPU line. With increasing technology sanctions on China likely in the coming months due to concerns over high-tech weaponry, these development plans appear strategically necessary for replacing foreign GPUs, which may become increasingly scarce as the global GPU market faces challenges.