Loongson Announces 9A1000 GPU Launch Timeline and 6th-Gen CPU Core R&D
Chinese chipmaker Loongson announced that its first GPU and AI acceleration card, the 9A1000, is expected to hit the market in the first half of next year. Additionally, the company revealed that R&D on its 6th-generation high-performance CPU core has begun alongside system adaptations for OpenHarmony and Android. The launch of the 9A1000 marks Loongson's expansion into standalone graphics and entry-level AI acceleration, furthering domestic hardware self-reliance in China. Providing adaptation for OpenHarmony and Android could also expand LoongArch processors beyond desktop computing into industrial tablets and commercial display terminals. The 9A1000 provides 40 TOPS of AI compute capability and graphics performance roughly comparable to AMD's Radeon RX 550, while reducing light-load power consumption by 70%. Loongson is striving to develop Windows drivers for the card, while a dedicated team in Shenzhen is porting OpenHarmony and Android to the 2K3000 processor platform.
## BACKGROUND
Loongson develops processors based on its proprietary LoongArch instruction set architecture, aiming to create an independent semiconductor ecosystem in China. Embodied AI refers to artificial intelligence systems integrated into physical entities—such as robotics or edge devices—that interact directly with their physical environment through sensorimotor feedback.