Hu Weiwu, chief designer of Loongson processors (Photo/Xinhua)

Loongson 3B CPU processor (Photo/Xinhua)

In 2001, 32-year-old Hu Weiwu, a scientist at the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), formed his own team to develop domestic general purpose CPUs. After years of effort, a series of CPUs including the Loongson 1, Loongson 2 and Loongson 3 have emerged. The Loongson CPU based ecosystem is now taking shape.

In 2010, the CAS and Beijing Municipality Government jointly funded and set up the Loongson Technology to industrialize technological achievements. As the chief architect of the company, Hu Weiwu has since then worked on industrialization of the technology.

Loongson Technology has put the focus on customer demand, and worked closely with the middle and downstream of the industrial chain, both in hardware and software, making great efforts to build the Loongson CPU ecosystem.

They have worked together with many well-known software companies and successfully applied the Linux operating system, Sogou input method, and 360 anti-virus software packages in Loongson desktop products. Thus, the user experience has been significantly improved.

They have cooperated with database providers like Shentong Data and DH Data, middleware and application software providers including Kingdee and TongTech. The Loongson 3A quad-core CPU and Loongson 3B six-core CPU processors serve well on China's smallest proprietary computer - "Sugon's Longteng L200".

The Loongson CPU based ecosystem has taken shape. Loongson CPUs have been applied in industries ranging from equipment, electric power, petroleum, government office, and network security to finance.

"Our sales last year reached more than 30 million units, and they are expected to increase by multiples this year," said Hu Weiwu. Loongson Technology already obtained funds from CDH Investment in the second half of last year.

The performance of Loongson CPUs has continued to improve in the industrialization process. At the same time, Loongson Technology has accomplished theoretical innovation. "In recent years, we have achieved substantial improvements in our paper writing - many international counterparts have invited us to give lectures and conduct exchanges. Technological innovation is only high-level innovation when it is in practice," says Hu Weiwu.

This article was edited and translated from 《从"学院派"转向"市场派"》, source: People's Daily, author: Xu Yongxin.