Author: Peng Cheng
Data shows that global edge computing spending is expected to increase from USD 261 billion in 2025 to USD 380 billion in 2028. During the same period, China's edge computing hardware market will grow from USD 7.4 billion to USD 13.2 billion. The industrial-grade embedded market can be described as another trillion-dollar-scale market, comparable to server computing.
For a long time, the Industrial Personal Computer (IPC) market has been primarily controlled by foreign chip companies. Relevant statistics show that the x86 architecture accounts for over 90% of the global CPU market, and the installed base of domestic IPCs is close to 30 million units. However, this situation is now changing, as domestic chip companies are collectively surging into the IPC sector.
01. The Old Pattern Dominated by x86
IPC, or Industrial Personal Computer, also known as industrial computer or industrial PC, includes categories such as embedded IPCs, industrial desktops, rackmount IPCs, DIN rail IPCs, embedded boards, industrial tablet PCs, and special application IPCs. As general-purpose computing equipment in industrial settings, IPCs are mainly based on general-purpose processors (CPUs or SoCs (System on Chip)) and run Windows or Linux operating systems. They undertake functions such as HMI (Human-Machine Interface) interaction, data acquisition, machine vision, and edge gateways, and are applied in fields like intelligent manufacturing, rail transit, power and energy, and medical equipment.
The IPC industry chain is divided into three segments. The upstream includes various raw materials and related components such as semiconductors, PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), chipsets, and power supplies. The midstream is the manufacturing segment of the IPC industry, where OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are mainly responsible for turning chip products into industrial-grade motherboards and complete machines, completing firmware development, operating system adaptation, structural thermal design, and industry certifications. The downstream consists of equipment manufacturers and system integrators in fields such as rail transit, power, and medical care. Products from OEMs enter final application scenarios through this segment.
For a considerable period in the past, the general-purpose processors in the upstream of the industry chain were unified by the x86 architecture dominated by Intel, while the midstream complete machine market was occupied by manufacturers such as Advantech and EVOC, along with a few European and American brands. Among them, Advantech, as a veteran manufacturer with over 40 years of deep cultivation in the IPC field, ranks first in market share in the industrial computer sector. Relying on strong technical accumulation and industrial layout, it actively promotes the deep integration of AI and edge computing, providing solutions for global manufacturing, transportation, medical, and energy industries.
For a long time, the x86 architecture has supported the development of the global IPC industry for decades with its mature and comprehensive software and hardware ecosystem, and a massive installed base of IPC equipment has also been accumulated domestically. Meanwhile, this mature ecosystem also brings practical thresholds for platform migration: Software ecosystem, configuration software and industrial software for large-scale installed equipment are developed based on the Windows/x86 environment. Changing the platform means software rewriting and re-validation, resulting in high production line downtime costs; Certification barriers, industries such as rail transit, power, and medical care implement access certifications, and certifications are bound to specific platforms. Changing chips requires re-inspection, and the certification cycle is calculated in years; Equipment lifecycle, the service cycle of industrial equipment is generally 10 to 20 years, and users hold a conservative attitude towards hardware platform changes.
02. OEMs Adapt to Domestic Chips
In recent years, given the changes in the market environment, OEMs in the midstream are actively embracing and adapting to domestic chips. On the technology front, domestic chips have crossed the critical point in performance and ecosystem usability; on the policy front, in 2026, in the procurement standards for critical infrastructure industries such as power, rail transit, finance, and energy, "full-stack autonomous and controllable" has shifted from a bonus item to an entry threshold. OEMs do not participate in chip design; their core value lies in transforming chips into mature complete machine products that meet industrial standards and can be implemented in industry scenarios. Leading OEMs represented by Advantech are now becoming pioneers in the localization transformation.
As early as 2022, Advantech completed the compatibility mutual certification of industrial motherboards based on the Zhaoxin Semiconductor with the UnionTech and Kylin operating systems. Prior to this, Advantech had already established ecological cooperation with domestic chip manufacturers such as Zhaoxin, Phytium, Hygon, and Rockchip. In addition to in-depth development in product technology and applications, it also ensures after-sales support for products. In the same year, Advantech signed an Ascend AI-related cooperation agreement with Huawei and officially joined the Ascend Wanli Partner Program. Currently, Advantech's localized products cover multiple mainstream domestic chip platforms including Rockchip, Phytium, Kunpeng, Zhaoxin, Hygon, and Loongson, and continue to improve software and hardware adaptation. By deploying product lines based on domestic chips, Advantech quickly grasps the industrial incremental opportunities brought by the localization wave. Other OEMs are following suit. EVOC has completed the adaptation of domestic processors such as Zhaoxin, Phytium, and Loongson. The W15F-KX model is equipped with the domestic Zhaoxin KX 7000 processor, supports domestic operating systems such as Kylin and UnionTech UOS, and is configured with 2 to 4 network ports, 8 USBs, and multiple COM interfaces, which can meet the hardware compliance requirements of localization projects. ADLINK released its first domestic autonomous embedded computing platform with Hygon integrated graphics, COMEx-6HG4, this year. It is equipped with the Hygon C86-4G series processor, natively supports the x86 instruction set, and allows users to smoothly migrate to domestic hardware platforms without large-scale reconstruction of existing application software. Inovance has widely adapted domestic processors in multiple industrial automation products, among which the Inovance EV0800 is equipped with a domestic high-performance 64-bit ARM processor.
Throughout the entire localization chain, OEMs play an irreplaceable bridging role: chip manufacturers provide chips, and OEMs complete industrial-grade motherboard design, UEFI firmware development, operating system adaptation, industry certification, and long-term supply commitments. This productization process determines whether chips can enter high-threshold industries such as rail transit and power. This kind of scenario-based engineering design and reliability verification is precisely where the value of OEMs differs from that of chip manufacturers. For domestic chips to enter the critical infrastructure industry market, completing productization and certification through leading OEMs is the most efficient path.
03. How Domestic Chips Surge into the IPC Market
Relying on the productization capabilities of OEMs, domestic chips are penetrating the IPC market through three different technical paths.
The first category is the downward expansion of server and high-performance platforms. Hygon is a landmark case of a server manufacturer entering the IPC market. On September 22, 2026, Hygon Information released the 1000 series CPU in Shenzhen. This is its first chip targeting physical world scenarios such as industrial control, and its computing power landscape officially extends from the cloud to the edge. The 1000 series is specifically designed for IPC scenarios: C86 architecture, 4 cores and 8 threads, typical TDP as low as 10W, supporting -40°C to 105°C industrial-grade wide temperature, integrated graphics processing unit and supporting 4K60 dual-channel display, and on-chip integration of national cryptographic algorithm hardware acceleration and security processors. Relying on C86's compatibility with the x86 ecosystem, Hygon has completed thousands of software and hardware adaptation certifications, allowing existing applications to migrate smoothly; it also promises 10-year long-term supply, advance EOL notification, and multi-generation compatible upgrade mechanisms.
Phytium, on the other hand, has derived a dedicated embedded product line, E2000, from its server S2500 and desktop D2000. It is exactly this model that is used in rail transit signal equipment. The power consumption and package form of server chips cannot directly meet the wide temperature and long-term supply requirements of fanless IPCs, requiring redesign for embedded scenarios. In 2024, autonomous and controllable DCS and other primary and auxiliary machine systems built on the domestic Phytium E2000 chip have been successfully deployed and put into operation at the Wangting Power Plant of Huadian Jiangsu. This system is among the first domestic power IPC systems with TCM (Trusted Cryptography Module) built-in at the CPU hardware underlying layer. It builds a trust chain from the source, conducts full-lifecycle security tracking of critical software and hardware, and builds an "active immunity" security defense line for the power grid. In rail transit lines in multiple cities such as Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hefei, and Guiyang, the automatic fare collection systems based on Phytium CPUs all use the Phytium E2000 CPU as the hardware core, combined with Kylin Software's Kylin Embedded Operating System V10 and Shucheng Technology's IPC products.
Huawei-related products enter the IPC market through the product combination of "Kunpeng CPU processor + Ascend AI accelerator". At Huawei Connect 2026 in September, Advantech exhibited the "Kunpeng + Ascend" full-stack AI all-in-one machine. With the industrial motherboard IBK70 developed based on the Kunpeng processor as the computing power base, it flexibly carries Ascend Atlas300V/300I/300I Duo inference cards, building a multi-level computing power system from edge inference to central training and inference, and adapting to Kylin, UnionTech, and OpenEuler operating systems. Ascend NPUs also widely enter various IPC equipment in the form of coprocessors: Advantech has successively launched edge AI modules, development kits, and complete machine solutions based on Ascend 310 and 310P.
The second category is the horizontal migration of desktop and embedded platforms. The Zhaoxin KX series itself is positioned in the desktop and embedded x86 market and has been long applied in mid-to-low-end IPCs. Loongson's 2K series is a native embedded processor product line (the 3A/3C series corresponds to desktop and server), adopting the completely autonomous LoongArch instruction set (the 3A/3C series corresponds to desktop and server). Loongson 2K3000 integrates 8 LA364E cores and a self-developed 3D GPU, supports AI acceleration and 4K60 video decoding, and can achieve 100% localization from CPU and bridge chips to passive components. Its competitiveness mainly comes from the high-security attributes brought by the autonomous instruction set, making it suitable for industry scenarios with strict audit requirements.
The third category is the upward movement of edge ARM SoCs. Chips such as Rockchip RK3568 and RK3588 were originally mostly used in consumer electronics such as tablets, set-top boxes, and visual terminals. Relying on advantages such as low power consumption, on-chip integrated NPU, and complete multimedia interfaces, they are gradually entering industrial incremental markets such as edge gateways, machine vision, robot controllers, and medical IVD. Allwinner's product route is similar to this.
From highly relying on the single x86 ecosystem to the gradual implementation and adaptation of multiple types of domestic chip platforms, this change is precisely a microcosm of the development of the domestic IPC industry. In the short term, the replacement demand for existing equipment is mainly undertaken by c86 compatible solutions such as Hygon and Zhaoxin; in the new equipment market, edge SoCs such as Rockchip will occupy an important position; for scenarios with strict security level requirements, autonomous instruction set products such as Loongson and Phytium are responsible; AI computing power is more infiltrated into IPC equipment in the form of coprocessors. And the realization of this entire localization implementation is inseparable from the deep participation of OEMs.