Hygon Information Technology

About Hygon Information Technology

Haiguang Information Technology (Hygon) is a Chinese fabless semiconductor company, established in October 2014, that primarily designs and sells high-end processors and accelerators. Initially known as Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment (THATIC), the company is a key player in China's initiative for semiconductor self-sufficiency.

A significant milestone in Hygon's history was the 2016 joint venture with U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). This partnership was structured through two entities: Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics (HMC), in which AMD held a 51% stake, and Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit Design (HICD), with AMD holding a 30% stake. The venture's objective was to license AMD's x86 processor technology and produce a Chinese domestic version of AMD's Zen 1 CPUs. This arrangement provided AMD with a $293 million licensing fee plus future royalties and gave Hygon access to critical server chip technology. The first microprocessor from this collaboration, the Hygon Dhyana, entered the Chinese market in 2018 and was noted for its similarity to AMD's Epyc processors.

The company's trajectory was impacted in June 2019 when the U.S. Department of Commerce added Hygon and its related entities to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List. This action restricted access to U.S. technology and prevented AMD from licensing newer generations of its IP, such as Zen 2, to the joint ventures. Despite these restrictions, Hygon retained access to the original licensed IP and has since focused on developing its own products.

Hygon went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market in August 2022, raising approximately $1.6 billion in one of China's largest IPOs of that year. The company's main business involves the research, development, and sale of its Hygon CPU (Central Processing Unit) and DCU (Deep Learning Processor) product lines for servers and workstations. Its clients operate in various sectors, including telecommunications, finance, internet services, and education. In a major strategic move to create a vertically integrated computing powerhouse, Hygon announced a merger with its largest shareholder and key client, supercomputer manufacturer Sugon (also known as Dawning Information Industry), in May 2025.

Hygon's product portfolio is centered on its CPU and DCU series. Initially based on AMD's Zen 1 architecture, the company has worked on creating homegrown designs following the trade restrictions. The company has announced upcoming processors, such as the C86-5G, which features a self-developed microarchitecture with 128 cores and 512 threads, showcasing a significant step in its independent R&D capabilities. These chips are designed for high-performance computing, AI, and big data processing workloads.