Chinese homegrown X86 CPU hits the market

Chinese fabless Zhaoxin is set to launch an eight-core X86-64 processor, according to media reports. While the 16nm chip fabbed at TSMC is not exactly cutting-edge compared to contemporary AMD or Intel offerings, it is reported to perform significantly better than previous homegrown Chinese products. As such, it does represent another step towards Chinese semiconductor autarky.

The X86 design appears to be rooted in the American company Centaur Technology, which was acquired in 1995 by Via Technologies from Taiwan. Zhaoxin is a joint venture between Via and the Shanghai Municipal Government.