Is Moore Threads profitable in 2026?

Moore Threads posted its first-ever quarterly net profit of RMB 29.36 million in Q1 2026, versus a RMB 277 million loss a year earlier. Full-year 2025 still showed a net loss of RMB 1.001 billion despite revenue up 243% to RMB 1.505 billion, as of 2025-12-31.

Who owns Moore Threads?

Moore Threads is an independent public company listed on Shanghai's STAR Market since December 5, 2025. Pre-IPO backers included Sequoia China, Tencent, ByteDance and Pony.ai; DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng was named top institutional shareholder at IPO.

Who is Moore Threads' biggest competitor?

Huawei's state-backed Ascend chips lead China's AI chip market with the Ascend 950 launching in 2026, and Cambricon already books about four times Moore Threads' revenue while being profitable, with RMB 1.013 billion net profit in Q1 2026.

Could AI replace Moore Threads?

No. Moore Threads builds the GPU hardware that AI models run on, so it isn't a labor task AI could automate. Its real risk is competitive substitution by rivals like Huawei and Cambricon, not obsolescence from AI itself, as of mid-2026.

How did Moore Threads' IPO perform?

Moore Threads listed on Shanghai's STAR Market on December 5, 2025, raising about RMB 8 billion (roughly $1.1 billion) at RMB 114.28 per share, and its stock jumped 468% on the first trading day.

What chips does Moore Threads make?

Moore Threads builds MUSA-architecture GPUs including consumer graphics cards (S-series), datacenter AI accelerators (S2000-S4000), and KUAE computing clusters, and unveiled its Huagang architecture plus Huashan and Lushan chips on December 20-21, 2025.

AI companies and labs · China

Moore Threads

mthreads.com ↗

Chinese GPU maker building AI chips to fill the gap left by Nvidia export bans.

Losing its protection

Assessed 26 July 2026 · Evidence as of 26 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 26 July 2026 · Checkable from Aug 10 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings report, to confirm Q1's first-ever profit wasn't a one-off cluster order

The call

Moore Threads sits inside a wall built by US export bans, but Huawei and Cambricon are already selling chips faster and bigger inside that same wall.

Moore Threads makes artificial intelligence chips for China's market, protected by US rules that block Nvidia from selling there. However, seven other Chinese companies get the same protection, and two of them, Huawei and Cambricon, are much bigger, better funded, and already selling chips that work. The stock price assumes Moore Threads will dominate China, but today it has less than 1% of the market. What could change things: if Huawei's new chip in 2026 fails to work as promised, or if Moore Threads suddenly becomes profitable beyond a one-time boost in early 2025.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI demand is Moore Threads' whole opportunity, not a predator; the risk is domestic rivals filling that demand first. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Huawei Ascend (21% China AI-chip share, Ascend 950 launching 2026). Huawei already ships state-backed Ascend chips at 21% share; Moore Threads holds under 1% of the same market. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. US export controls keep Nvidia out of China, but that protection covers eight domestic rivals equally, not just Moore Threads.

What would change this call

Huawei Ascend 950 launch and state-procurement lock-in during 2026. Would show state buyers consolidating around Huawei, squeezing Moore Threads further.
Independent benchmark verification of Huagang/Huashan chip mass production in 2026. Would show whether Moore Threads can actually close the gap versus Hopper-class performance.
Moore Threads Q2 2026 earnings due August 10, 2026. Would show if Q1 profitability was sustained or was a one-time cluster order.

Key numbers

Market cap ~$40-48B on ~$210M FY2025 revenue (2026-07)
Q1 2026 net profit ¥29.36M, first profitable quarter ever (2026-03-31)
Cambricon revenue is about 4x Moore Threads' and already profitable (2026-07)

Named risks

Sub-1% share of China's protected domestic AI chip market despite regulatory moat against Nvidia. Severity: high
Huagang/Huashan mass production and Hopper-parity claims unverified by independent benchmarks as of mid-2026. Severity: medium
US Entity List since October 2023 cuts off TSMC fabrication and Western EDA/design tools. Severity: medium
State procurement could consolidate around Huawei's Ascend 950, relegating Moore Threads to margin. Severity: high
Stock swung from RMB 941 high in Dec 2025 to RMB 503 low in Mar 2026, showing investor uncertainty. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Huawei	losing to	State-backed Ascend chips lead China AI chip market; Ascend 950 launching 2026 with SMIC fab priority Moore Threads lacks
Cambricon	losing to	Cambricon booked RMB 2.885B revenue and RMB 1.013B net profit in Q1 2026, dwarfing Moore Threads' RMB 738M
Nvidia	contesting	Blocked by US export controls from China market; Moore Threads' Huashan chip claims Hopper parity as of Dec 2025, unverified independently

Questions people ask

Is Moore Threads profitable in 2026?: Moore Threads posted its first-ever quarterly net profit of RMB 29.36 million in Q1 2026, versus a RMB 277 million loss a year earlier. Full-year 2025 still showed a net loss of RMB 1.001 billion despite revenue up 243% to RMB 1.505 billion, as of 2025-12-31.
Who owns Moore Threads?: Moore Threads is an independent public company listed on Shanghai's STAR Market since December 5, 2025. Pre-IPO backers included Sequoia China, Tencent, ByteDance and Pony.ai; DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng was named top institutional shareholder at IPO.
Who is Moore Threads' biggest competitor?: Huawei's state-backed Ascend chips lead China's AI chip market with the Ascend 950 launching in 2026, and Cambricon already books about four times Moore Threads' revenue while being profitable, with RMB 1.013 billion net profit in Q1 2026.
Could AI replace Moore Threads?: No. Moore Threads builds the GPU hardware that AI models run on, so it isn't a labor task AI could automate. Its real risk is competitive substitution by rivals like Huawei and Cambricon, not obsolescence from AI itself, as of mid-2026.
How did Moore Threads' IPO perform?: Moore Threads listed on Shanghai's STAR Market on December 5, 2025, raising about RMB 8 billion (roughly $1.1 billion) at RMB 114.28 per share, and its stock jumped 468% on the first trading day.
What chips does Moore Threads make?: Moore Threads builds MUSA-architecture GPUs including consumer graphics cards (S-series), datacenter AI accelerators (S2000-S4000), and KUAE computing clusters, and unveiled its Huagang architecture plus Huashan and Lushan chips on December 20-21, 2025.

Timeline

2026-05-18Beijing event launched MTT AICUBE smart-home hub and Wheat AI agent product
2026-04-28Reported first-ever quarterly net profit, RMB 29.36 million in Q1 2026
2026-03-30Won RMB 660 million KUAE computing-cluster order
2025-12-20MDC 2025 unveiled Huagang architecture and Huashan, Lushan chips
2025-12-05IPO on Shanghai STAR Market; shares surged 468% on debut
2024-04Designated a unicorn by Beijing
2023-12Revealed KUAE AI computing cluster
2023-10Placed on US Entity List, cut off from TSMC and Western tools
2020-10Founded by ex-Nvidia executives Zhang Jianzhong and Zhang Yubo

Head to head

Huawei HiSilicon vs Moore Threads

Revision history

26 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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