AI Industry Chain Rebounds Across the Board: PCB, MLCC, CPO, and Memory Chips Rally Together

Keywords

AI industry, PCB, MLCC, CPO, memory chips, ChiNext AI ETF, market rebound

Introduction

In mid-July 2026, the A-share artificial intelligence industry chain staged a collective rebound, with key concept sectors such as PCB, MLCC, CPO, and memory chips moving actively upward, becoming the focus of market attention. This rebound not only drove strong performance of related individual stocks but also propelled significant gains in the ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159246) and the STAR-ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159022). Among them, EoptLink rose over 10%, Zhongji Innolight rose over 8%, and core names such as Tianfu Communication, Beijing Ingenic, and LightCore Technology also performed well. Behind this rebound, there is both support from industry fundamentals and a reflection of the market's reassessment and confidence restoration in the medium-to-long-term development prospects of the AI industry chain.

I. PCB and MLCC: Strong Recovery of the AI Hardware Foundation

PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor), as foundational components of hardware such as AI servers and communication equipment, often see their demand changes regarded as a barometer of the AI industry's prosperity. With the accelerated construction of global AI data centers, large-scale deployment of 800G optical modules, and the imminent mass production of next-generation AI chips, the order visibility of PCB and MLCC has significantly improved, and the industry inventory cycle is gradually shifting from de-stocking to re-stocking.

In this rebound, the PCB sector took the lead, with multiple manufacturers reporting strong demand for high multi-layer boards and HDI products, and capacity utilization rates continuing to rise. On the MLCC front, benefiting from the incremental demand for high-end capacitors in AI server power management, signal processing, and other links, some leading companies have initiated a new round of price increases, further boosting market sentiment. From an industry logic perspective, the simultaneous rise of PCB and MLCC is a clear signal that the AI hardware infrastructure expansion cycle is moving from "expectation" to "realization."

II. CPO and Optical Modules: Core Tracks in the Computing Network Leading the Rally

The CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) and optical module sector was one of the leading directions in this rebound. EoptLink rose over 10%, Zhongji Innolight rose over 8%, and Tianfu Communication, LightCore Technology, etc., also performed actively. Behind this phenomenon is the strong market expectation for the acceleration of computing network construction.

With the continuous explosion of demand for large model training and inference, the interconnection bandwidth within data centers is evolving from 400G to 800G and even 1.6T. Traditional pluggable optical modules are gradually hitting bottlenecks in power consumption and density. CPO technology, by co-packaging the optical engine with the switch chip, significantly reduces signal loss and power consumption, becoming the mainstream solution for next-generation AI cluster interconnection. Leading companies in the industry chain have increased investment in CPO research and mass production. Recently, multiple companies have disclosed order and customer introduction progress that exceeded expectations, directly catalyzing this sector's rally.

III. Memory Chips: Deep Release of AI Memory Demand

In terms of memory chips, the performance of names like Beijing Ingenic was also commendable. The training and inference of AI large models place extremely high demands on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and large-capacity NAND Flash, making memory chips one of the key bottlenecks restricting the release of computing power. Currently, global memory giants continue to reduce production capacity for traditional DRAM and NAND while shifting resources toward HBM3E and enterprise SSDs, resulting in a tight supply situation and high prices.

Against the backdrop of independent and controllable domestic industry chains, Chinese memory chip companies are accelerating the domestic substitution process for advanced products such as DDR5 and LPDDR5X. Some companies have entered the core supply chain of AI servers. This rebound reflects the market's recognition of the "volume and price rise" logic for memory chips, as well as an optimistic outlook on the technological breakthroughs and market share gains of domestic companies.

IV. ETF Market Performance: Capital Leveraging ETFs to Position in the AI Industry


As of press time, the ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159246) rose 3.22% intraday, and the STAR-ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159022) also rose over 1%. These two ETFs cover multiple segments of the AI industry chain, including upstream chips, midstream computing power, and downstream applications. Their simultaneous rise indicates that funds are systematically positioning for the AI industry rebound through index-based tools.

From a capital flow perspective, multiple AI-themed ETFs have recently received sustained net subscriptions, with both institutional and individual investors showing high allocation enthusiasm. On one hand, this stems from confidence in the long-term prosperity of the AI industry; on the other hand, it reflects that after market adjustments, active position-building has begun in AI sub-sectors with reasonable valuations and strong earnings certainty. The steady performance of ETFs provides a convenient channel for ordinary investors to share in the dividends of AI industry growth.

Conclusion

This collective rebound of the AI industry chain is the result of a resonance of multiple concepts such as PCB, MLCC, CPO, and memory chips under the dual catalysis of fundamentals and sentiment. The strong performance of core names like EoptLink, Zhongji Innolight, Tianfu Communication, and Beijing Ingenic highlights the market's high recognition of AI hardware infrastructure expansion, computing network upgrades, and memory demand release. With the linked rise of the ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159246) and the STAR-ChiNext AI ETF Fullgoal (159022), the trend of funds using ETFs to position in the AI industry is becoming increasingly evident.

Looking ahead, the AI industry is still in an acceleration phase of technological iteration and commercial implementation. Various segments of the industry chain are expected to continue benefiting from the explosion of computing power demand. Investors should pay close attention to sub-sectors with strong certainty, such as CPO, HBM, and high-end PCB, while closely tracking technological evolution and order fulfillment. This rebound may be just one node in the long bull market of AI; the wave of industrial transformation is far from over, and the true value release is still on the way.