According to statistics from Global Semiconductor Observation, recently, at least 40 financing events have occurred in the domestic semiconductor, chip, and related fields, of which 33 disclosed the amounts. Seven billion-level transactions account for more than 60% of the total disclosed amount. In terms of direction, AI computing power and optical interconnect take the lion's share of the funds, while automotive-grade, power, and advanced packaging are also favored by capital.
Figure 2: Distribution of Financing Tracks in the Domestic Semiconductor Industry Recently
Optical Interconnect Becomes the "Highly Coveted Sector"
The track with the highest financing frequency is optical interconnect. Focusing on the question of "how to interconnect AI clusters," at least 10 financing deals have fallen on the same industrial chain within a month, with funds entering four segments: optical engines, silicon photonics, interconnect chips, power supply, and passive components.
Xinguangjie completed a CNY 100 million-level angel round financing. The funds will be used for core technology R&D, product iteration, and team building, accelerating the commercialization of NPO products, forward-looking research on CPO technologies, and promoting customer validation and scenario adaptation. This company, which was just launched in May, has consecutively secured 6 rounds of financing, showing its immense popularity.
Guanglian Xinke received nearly CNY 1 billion in financing, investing in silicon photonics and CPO R&D, which is the largest amount on this chain; Guoke Guangxin focuses on single-wavelength 400G silicon photonics chips.
Muchuang and Yuanqi, which make smart NICs and SerDes, as well as Senwan, which makes silicon capacitors, are also on this chain. The newly entered Langxi Technology specializes in silicon capacitors, silicon resistors, and silicon inductors, providing power for AI/CPU/GPU.
Massive Computing Power Continues to Attract Funds
If optical interconnect solves "how to connect," then the massive computing power end solves "how to compute."
Sunrise Technology, spun off from SenseTime, is a GPU company whose products have been iterated to the third generation, securing CNY 2 billion in financing in this round; Chen Peng, former general manager of Huawei HiSilicon Kunpeng and president of Horizon Robotics Chip, started a business and established Jiuwanli Future Technology, which has currently consecutively completed seed and angel round financing, with a cumulative financing scale of over USD 100 million; Weina Hexin, which makes computing-storage integrated AI chips, secured CNY 1 billion in the Series C round; D-Robotics, spun off from Horizon Robotics, secured USD 400 million in the Series C round, which is the largest amount so far.
In September, two more large-scale financing deals were closed: Yixing Intelligent secured nearly CNY 2 billion in financing in this round, with a post-investment valuation approaching CNY 15 billion, and its RISC-V cloud computing chip Epoch has been mass-produced and delivered; Xingyun Integration, which independently develops GPGPUs, received nearly CNY 800 million in financing. According to Yunxiu Capital, the round was led by Puquan Capital, a subsidiary of CATL. Storage has also caught the AI tailwind; Lingkai Semiconductor, focusing on high-performance storage chips for AI inference, also appeared on this financing list.
New Changes Emerge in the Automotive Sector
When computing power falls into specific scenarios, the automotive sector takes the lead.
Automotive-grade chip company SemiDrive Technology announced on September 21 the completion of its C+ and C++ round financing. Together with the Series C round in May, the Series C rounds total approximately CNY 1 billion. According to the company, the funds will focus on core R&D and product commercialization, while also beginning to enter the field of embodied intelligence. Shenzhen Yitu Technology, which makes AI-native intelligent cockpit middleware, received nearly CNY 100 million in financing, led by the Shanghai Semiconductor Equipment and Material Industry Investment Fund.
Segments such as cockpit SoC and AI middleware, which were not very conspicuous in financing news in the past, are now beginning to attract attention.
Power Semiconductor Financing Heats Up
What the automotive sector drives is far more than just the cockpit; power devices have also formed their own financing rhythm.
Zhejiang Jingneng Microelectronics Co., Ltd., under Geely Technology Group, started with automotive-grade SiC modules, and its business has now extended to data centers, aerospace, and even controlled nuclear fusion. This round of CNY 630 million Series C financing has been closed. It is reported that the company has accumulated nearly CNY 2 billion in financing over the four years since its establishment. Hangzhou Puxi Optics, founded by four classmates from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University, focuses on special power chips that can withstand environments of about 250°C and above, and is expanding towards high-temperature joints for robots.
The List for Supply Chain Completion is Growing
While the foreground tracks are bustling, the backstage shortcomings are also being made up one by one.
Xixinwei does wafer mid-end processing for advanced packaging, and its products are applied in new energy storage and AI computing power construction. The financing list for this round includes Hubei state-owned capital, Zhejiang state-owned capital, and the power device listed company NCE Power.
In addition, Hechen New Materials, which makes CMP polishing materials and blank masks; Zhaomo Vacuum, which makes vacuum components; Kangwei Vision, which does AOI inspection; and Xinai Technology, which makes high-end packaging substrates, have also attracted capital investment.
In addition, Xingyi Lianxin focuses on low-orbit satellite communication payloads, with a total of hundreds of millions of yuan in two rounds, forming a group with Jingpeng Xinhai's satellite phased array chips; Siwei Sensing's MEMS pressure sensors, as well as the Micro-LEDs of Raysolve and Weijiu Optoelectronics, are also on this list. These segments had little voice and relatively small single amounts in the past, but they have successively secured financing within a month.
The Round Structure is Also Worth Paying Attention To
Beyond the directions, let's look at how the funds are allocated.
About 60% of the 40 financing deals are concentrated from the angel round to the Series A round, and the angel round amounts have also been raised: Jiuwanli exceeded USD 100 million; Xijian Technology, just one year after its establishment, has consecutively completed three rounds of financing with a cumulative amount of nearly CNY 500 million; and Cuisi Technology exceeded CNY 100 million.
The backgrounds of these entrepreneurs are also not to be underestimated: Chen Peng was once in charge of Huawei HiSilicon Kunpeng and Horizon Robotics chip businesses; Sunrise Technology was spun off from SenseTime; D-Robotics comes from Horizon Robotics; Xingyun Integration was founded by Ji Yu, a "Huawei Genius Youth"; the four founders of Puxi Optics are classmates from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University; and Muchuang was incubated from the Tsinghua University Wuxi Research Institute. Capital is more willing to pay for teams with mass production experience or university backgrounds in the early stages.
The financing intervals are also being compressed: Xinguangjie secured 6 rounds in five consecutive months, and Yixing Intelligent secured a total of about CNY 3.5 billion in two rounds within a few months. From a regional perspective, the Yangtze River Delta remains the main force, while Beijing, relying on computing power chips, contributed two large-scale financing deals for Yixing Intelligent and Xingyun Integration.
Industrial Players Enter the Game and Increase Investment
Industrial players have also taken their seats at the poker table, and the proportion of those entering the game in this round is more obvious than before.
Sigmastar, Rockchip, and MetaX invested in Aowei Lingxin, Xinai Technology, and Muchuang Integrated Circuit, respectively; Meituan Strategic Investment invested in D-Robotics; and Appotronics and Peng Qian, Chairman of Wuhan Jingce Electronic, followed the investment in Weijiu Optoelectronics.
Several more deals were added this month: CATL led the investment in Xingyun Integration through its subsidiary Puquan Capital; Tongfu Microelectronics appeared on the shareholder list of Yixing Intelligent; NCE Power invested in Xixinwei; and SenseTime Guoxiang Capital invested in Langxi Technology.
Downstream chip and OEM manufacturers treat investment as a way to lock in the supply chain. The scale of funds is not necessarily the largest, but the orders and validation opportunities they bring are often more "valuable."
State-Owned Capital Continues to Secure Positions
In addition to industrial players, the density of state-owned capital is also increasing.
The Series B round of Xixinwei was participated in by Hubei state-owned capital and Zhejiang state-owned capital; the Series C round of Puxi Optics introduced state-owned capitals such as Chengdu Kechuangtou, Shanghai Semiconductor Equipment and Material Industry Investment Fund, Shandong Caijin system, and Guizhou Guochuang at once; the two rounds of Xingyi Lianxin were led by Liangxi Kechuang Mother Fund and Guoke Investment, respectively; the investment list of SemiDrive Technology includes Shaanxi Investment Fund and Shaanxi Jinzi; and the lead investor of Yitu Technology is the Shanghai Semiconductor Equipment and Material Industry Investment Fund—this fund appeared twice within a month.
National-level funds mostly take another channel: disclosed on August 31, the Big Fund Phase III subscribed to the private placement of Primarius Technologies for CNY 950 million through Guotou Jixin; on September 1, Hua Hong Grace, together with multiple parties, increased the capital of Wuxi Phase III by USD 417 million, with the investors including policy-based financial instruments; on September 3, JCET put forward a CNY 6.5 billion private placement proposal. During this period, the "national team" appeared more in the positions of private placement, capacity expansion, and state-owned industrial funds.
Conclusion
Where the money is, that's where the attention is. Statistics on these 40 financing dynamics show which tracks capital prefers more: funds are flowing into the AI computing power chain and the domestic substitution list, and the layout is finer than before. Tracks such as automotive and power semiconductors are also highly concerned. With the continuous injection of funds, the implementation and industrialization process of related technologies are worth paying attention to.
Note: The information in this article comes from public reports such as Cailian Press Chuangtou Tong, "SSE STAR Market Daily", Securities Times, 36Kr, Yicai, Shanghai Securities News, Xinhua Net, and business registration information from Qichacha and Tianyancha; in the charts, "hundreds of millions of yuan" is estimated as CNY 300 million, "nearly 100 million yuan" as CNY 100 million, "over 100 million USD" as CNY 700 million, and "400 million USD" as CNY 2.68 billion. The 7 deals with undisclosed amounts are not included in the total.
#Semiconductor #Optical Communication