Chen Tianshi
Chinese computer scientist; co-founder, chairman and chief executive of the AI chip designer Cambricon Technologies
| Chen Tianshi
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985 (Cambricon annual report) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Residence | Beijing, China (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Computer scientist, business executive |
| Known for | Co-founder, chairman and general manager of Cambricon Technologies |
| Education | University of Science and Technology of China (BSc 2005; PhD 2010) |
Chen Tianshi (陈天石; born 1985) is a Chinese computer scientist and the co-founder, chairman and general manager (chief executive) of Cambricon Technologies, a Beijing-based designer of artificial-intelligence (AI) chips listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market.[1][2] He founded the company in 2016 with his elder brother, Chen Yunji, as a spin-off from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology, where both were researchers.[3][4][2] Cambricon's 2025 annual report names him as its controlling shareholder and actual controller.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Chen Tianshi 102nd in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$24.69 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Semiconductors.[5][6] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Chen Tianshi 123rd, at US$20.7 billion.[7]
Early life and education
Chen and his brother come from Nanchang in Jiangxi province, and both studied in the special class for gifted young students at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).[3] According to USTC's School of Computer Science, he entered the gifted-youth class in 2001, gained a bachelor's degree in science in 2005 and a doctorate in engineering from the university's computer school in 2010, and joined the Institute of Computing Technology the same year.[8] Cambricon's annual report describes his doctorate as being in computer software and theory.[1]
Research career
Cambricon's annual report says Chen worked at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) from 2010 to 2019, rising from assistant researcher to researcher and doctoral supervisor, and that he has been a visiting researcher there since October 2019.[1] A 2024 profile in China Science Daily, republished by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describes how the brothers worked on combining AI algorithms with processor design at ICT, at a time when the field was out of favour.[3] USTC records that he was named one of China's science newsmakers of 2019.[8]
Cambricon Technologies
According to the China Science Daily profile, Cambricon was established in 2016 with backing from ICT and venture-capital investors. Its Cambricon-1A processor, used in a Huawei smartphone in 2017, was described as the first commercial deep-learning processor. The company listed on the STAR Market on 20 July 2020, 116 days after filing its prospectus.[3] Fortune reported that its customers include Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.[2]
Cambricon made its first annual profit in 2025. Its annual report gives revenue of CNY6.497 billion, up 453.21% on the year.[1] Yicai reported net profit of CNY2.1 billion, against a loss the previous year, and said the shares were briefly the most expensive on the Chinese mainland in August 2025.[4] Fortune linked the company's growth to Chinese efforts to replace restricted US chips after American export bans on advanced AI processors.[2]
Ownership and wealth
At 31 December 2025 Chen held 119,530,650 Cambricon shares directly, 28.35% of the company. The annual report also says he is the actual controller of the partnership Beijing Aixi Technology Centre (北京艾溪科技中心), which held 7.27%.[1] The second-largest shareholder was Beijing Zhongke Suanyuan Asset Management (北京中科算源资产管理有限公司), with 15.57%; the report classes it as a state-owned legal-person shareholder.[1] Sina Finance's shareholder table shows Chen with 178,100,669 shares at 30 June 2026, still 28.35%.[9] The report gives his 2025 pre-tax pay from the company as CNY1.4642 million.[1]
Forbes gives semiconductors as his source of wealth and notes that the Institute of Computing Technology still holds a minority stake in Cambricon.[5] Fortune reported in October 2025 that a surge in the share price after quarterly results had made him one of the world's 100 richest people.[2]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 6 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2021. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[7][5]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1111 | 2.8 |
| 2022 | 1818 | 1.6 |
| 2023 | 1804 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 1143 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 191 | 12.5 |
| 2026 | 123 | 20.7 |
Philanthropy
No documented philanthropic programme in Chen's name was found in the sources checked.
Political activity
No party, legislative or advisory-body positions, political donations or lobbying registrations were found for Chen in the sources checked.
Controversies and legal issues
In December 2022 the US Bureau of Industry and Security added Cambricon Technologies and several of its subsidiaries, together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology, to the Entity List. It said the entities had acquired or attempted to acquire US-origin items in support of China's military modernisation, and that they were, or had close ties to, government organisations supporting the Chinese military and defence industry.[10] Cambricon's annual report lists the designation as a supply-chain risk.[1] The listing applies to the companies, not to Chen personally.[10]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
Cambricon was spun out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology, and a state-owned asset manager, Beijing Zhongke Suanyuan, is its second-largest shareholder (15.57% at the end of 2025).[3][1] Chen has been a visiting researcher at the institute since 2019.[1]
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Company level: in December 2022 the United States placed Cambricon and its subsidiaries on the Entity List, citing support for China's military modernisation.[10]
Other international links
Company level: the US Entity List designation (2022) restricts Cambricon's access to US-origin technology.[10][2]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited, 中科寒武纪科技股份有限公司2025年年度报告 (Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited 2025 annual report) Shanghai Stock Exchange filing via CNINFO, 13 March 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dave Smith, 'The Nvidia of China' says revenue spiked 14X last quarter. The ensuing stock frenzy made its CEO one of the world's richest people Fortune, 24 October 2025, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 赵广立 (Zhao Guangli), 开创“寒武纪” (Founding "Cambricon") 中国科学报 (China Science Daily), republished by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 September 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Yicai, Cambricon Posts First Annual Profit Yicai Global, republished by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 13 March 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Chen Tianshi (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/chen-tianshi/) Forbes, live record, read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 School of Computer Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, 陈天石（01少/0711博） (Chen Tianshi, gifted-youth class of 2001 / PhD 2007–11) USTC School of Computer Science and Technology, 12 September 2020, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Sina Finance, 寒武纪(688256)主要股东 (Cambricon (688256) principal shareholders) 新浪财经 (Sina Finance), data to 30 June 2026, published 8 August 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Bureau of Industry and Security, US Department of Commerce, Additions and Revisions to the Entity List and Conforming Removal From the Unverified List (87 FR 77505) Federal Register, vol. 87, no. 242 (document 2022-27151), 19 December 2022, accessed 21 October 2026.