Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor has scored a breakthrough in China's healthcare sector. On September 23, the x86 chipmaker announced that over 6,000 of its processor-powered desktops won a major hospital procurement bid, an important step for Chinese x86 CPUs in mission-critical medical deployments.
China's healthcare system is in the midst of rapid digital transformation, with ambitious goals to modernize core hospital information systems by 2025. The transition requires computing platforms that are both powerful and easy to deploy, critical traits in an industry long burdened by fragmented IT ecosystems.
China's healthcare IT fragmentation
Fragmentation remains one of healthcare IT's biggest challenges. Core systems such as hospital information systems (HIS), laboratory information systems (LIS), and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) still depend on foreign databases like Oracle and SQL Server, which command over 80% market share. Domestic databases account for less than 15%, and migrating decades of records is complicated by format incompatibility and strict real-time demands.
At one leading provincial hospital, 40% of legacy HIS systems still run on outdated VB6 architecture, with upgrades costing up to CNY800,000 (approx. US$112,500) per system. Provinces are now piloting phased adaptation, rushing "emergency fixes" for critical platforms like PACS, while allowing a three-year transition for non-core systems such as office software. The dual-track approach underscores the clash between policy mandates and technical realities.
Smaller hospitals face even sharper challenges: nearly 30% of their systems are too old to run domestic operating systems or new applications, leaving them stuck between costly legacy reuse and risky data migration.
Zhaoxin's processor ecosystem strategy
Zhaoxin is tackling these pain points with processors that combine compatibility and performance. The firm has independently developed six generations of high-performance CPUs, including the KaiXian desktop and KaiSheng server lines, with products spanning AI PCs, desktops, notebooks, all-in-ones, servers, and embedded platforms.
The chips support both domestic operating systems: UnionTech Software UOS, NeoKylin, Zhongkefangde Software, and Microsoft Windows. They are compatible with mainstream applications, cloud platforms, databases, development tools, and AI models, while keeping software migration costs low.
For healthcare, Zhaoxin has introduced "seamless migration" and "one-stop support" solutions. It has also set up medical application innovation centers with partners, offering hospitals end-to-end guidance from chips to operating systems and applications.
Today, Zhaoxin works with nearly 4,000 partners across systems integration, software, and hardware. Together with domestic OS vendors, it has completed more than 200,000 software-hardware adaptation projects, building a full-stack ecosystem from processors to databases and applications.
From 2022 to 2024, Zhaoxin recorded revenues of CNY340 million, CNY555 million, and CNY889 million, respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 61.71%.
Rivaling Intel and AMD in hospitals
Beating out Intel and AMD in a high-profile bid highlights Zhaoxin's progress in performance, compatibility, and cost efficiency. Its processors are built to handle demanding healthcare workloads — from electronic medical records to telemedicine platforms — while maintaining stable operations.
With integrated security, Zhaoxin CPUs protect patient data across its lifecycle: collection, transmission, storage, and use. This meets China's strict compliance standards, as hospitals lean on secure, high-performance platforms for data-heavy applications.
As digitalization accelerates, medical data will expand from text records and lab reports to imaging archives and real-time vital signs. Zhaoxin's processors can manage these workloads, minimizing downtime and enabling use cases such as AI diagnostics and cross-regional data sharing.
China's x86 chips gain traction
The hospital bid underscores the rising role of Chinese x86 chips in public welfare sectors. By offering strong performance and ecosystem compatibility, Zhaoxin is gaining ground in healthcare digitalization, an arena once dominated by foreign technology.
If sustained, these gains could speed the localization of hospital IT infrastructure, supporting China's drive for tech independence while laying the groundwork for smarter, more secure healthcare systems.
Article edited by Jack Wu
