Chinese processor manufacturer Zhaoxin has separate GPU in development

The Chinese chip manufacturer Zhaoxin designs its own separate GPU, based on a screenshot of a roadmap that has appeared in Chinese media. It is an entry-level GPU that the company produces at 28nm.

The roadmap mentions a 70W standalone GPU, which TSMC will produce at 28nm. The roadmap was featured in a video on Zhaoxin’s website, according to cnTechPost, but that video has since been removed. The GPU is on the roadmap for sometime between 2020 and 2021.

With a TDP of 70W and a production process of 28nm, it is clear that this is an entry-level video chip with low performance. Specifications of the GPU are not known. It is likely that Zhaoxin at least partly uses techniques that parent company VIA applied for the architecture of the S3 GPU.

Zhaoxin is known for its x86-64 processors in the KX lines, with which the company seems to have made significant performance gains in a relatively short time. The question is to what extent the company will be affected by the restrictions on the use of American chip technology, as the US has imposed on Huawei in particular.