Loongson

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Loongson Technology Corporation Limited is a Beijing-based chip designer known for its Loongson processors. It was founded in 2010 as a public–private partnership between the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and BLX IC Design. The goal is to develop high-performance CPUs in China to reduce dependence on foreign technology.

The early Loongson chips were built on the MIPS architecture and were called Godson. Over the years the company released multiple generations of CPUs for desktops, servers, and embedded systems. In 2021 Loongson introduced its own instruction set, LoongArch, and began moving away from MIPS. LoongArch comes in 32- and 64-bit versions and is supported by major compilers and Chinese operating systems.

Key products include the 3A5000 desktop CPU and the 3C5000L server CPU, along with the 3D5000 data-center processor. The 6000 series, announced in 2022, uses newer LA664 cores. In 2023, the 3A6000 was revealed and a 3C6000 is planned for 2024. These chips are built on advanced manufacturing processes and aim to offer strong performance for China’s own computing needs.

Loongson works with manufacturers such as STMicroelectronics and SMIC for fabrication. It faced a U.S. export restriction in 2023 but continues to push Linux-based software support in China. Chinese Linux distributions like Deepin, Kylin, and Loongnix support LoongArch, and other Chinese OS projects are adding support as well. In government and education, Loongson systems are being used in PCs and pilot programs to promote domestically developed technology.