Let's start with a set of figures.
The market size for semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment in mainland China has exceeded CNY 48 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 17.5%. However, the localization rate is less than 15%, and in the ultra-high-end segment, it is below 5%.
The market is expanding and the barriers to entry are rising, yet very few domestic brands can truly break in. The metrology and inspection segment has long been dominated by international giants, representing one of the highest value-added and most technically challenging positions in the core semiconductor manufacturing process.
Against this backdrop, PLSINTEC (Suzhou) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. has completed a Series A financing round of over CNY 100 million, jointly invested by multiple institutions including Yizhuang Venture Capital, Xinke Venture Capital, Saizhi Bole, and Cuiwei Fund. The use of funds is also very clear: mass production and delivery, market expansion, and technological research. Next, the company will focus on advanced process and advanced packaging processes, targeting logic, memory, and computing power chips, and covering key process flows such as TSV, RDL, Bump, and HBM.
| Metrology and Inspection: The "Eyes" of Chip Manufacturing and the Most Difficult Equipment to Develop Independently
What exactly is metrology and inspection? There is no need to overcomplicate it.
The logic of wafer manufacturing is to "stack" layer by layer. After each process step, it is necessary to measure whether the dimensions are correct and check for defects, proceeding only after confirming qualification. This is exactly what metrology and inspection equipment does: it acts as both a ruler and an eye. If the ruler is inaccurate, all subsequent processes are in vain; if the eye cannot see, yield is out of the question.
This explains why the barrier to entry for metrology and inspection is so high. It is not a single-point technical issue, but a coupling of capabilities in optical systems, precision motion control, algorithm modeling, and data processing. A shortcoming in any link will prevent the overall precision from improving. More trouble is that the more advanced the chip process, the smaller the feature sizes to be measured and the more complex the structures, leading to continuously rising requirements for precision and stability.
Precisely because it is difficult, this market is highly concentrated. Relying on decades of accumulation, international giants have held the vast majority of shares from high-end to mid-range. Domestic manufacturers have previously focused more on the mid-to-low end or single-point products. The number of domestic equipment that can enter the production lines of leading wafer fabs and run stably is limited.
This is the first premise for understanding this financing: PLSINTEC is not entering a "blue ocean," but a "deep water zone."
| How Concentrated Is This Market: Five US and Japanese Companies Take 90% of the Share
On a global scale for semiconductor inspection systems, in 2025, KLA alone accounts for about 53% of the share, Applied Materials about 15%, ASML about 11%, Hitachi High-Tech about 7.8%, and Tokyo Electron about 5%. The five companies combined account for 91.8%. In other words, all other manufacturers globally—including all Chinese companies—compete for less than 8% combined.
In the domestic Chinese market, this landscape is even more extreme. According to estimates by securities firms and industry research institutions, KLA alone holds a share of nearly 60% in mainland China's semiconductor inspection and metrology market, leading all domestic and foreign competitors.
Looking at the segments, there are two structures worth pointing out separately.
First, electron beam inspection is more closed. This segment specializes in nanometer-resolution electrical defect and 3D structure characterization, which is the lifeline of advanced processes. In 2025, global sales of the electron beam metrology and inspection equipment market were about USD 3.3 billion. The combined share of Applied Materials, Hitachi High-Tech, ASML, and KLA exceeds 85%, which is even more concentrated than the overall market.
Second, advanced packaging inspection is relatively dispersed. This is the segment where giants have the thinnest advantage in the entire metrology and inspection landscape—the advanced packaging inspection and metrology equipment market was about USD 925 million in 2025. KLA, Camtek, Onto Innovation, Nova, and LaserTec account for about 78%, but none holds over half: KLA has about 22% in advanced packaging, Camtek about 22%, Onto about 20%, and Nova about 18%. The players are closely matched, and the landscape is far from finalized.
This point perfectly explains why PLSINTEC has listed advanced packaging as a key direction. Segments such as TSV, RDL, Bump, and HBM are exactly where giants have not formed an overwhelming monopoly and where newcomers can still cut in. Rather than confronting KLA head-on in its strongest area of front-end bright-field inspection, it is better to find a position in the back-end—this is a pragmatic strategic choice, not a compromise.
| From Optical Systems to AI Agents: What Does Full-Stack Independent R&D Mean?
There is an easily overlooked watershed in the semiconductor equipment industry: are you an "integrator" or a "manufacturer"?
The difference lies in whether the core modules are made in-house. If optical lenses, motion platforms, and control algorithms all rely on external procurement, and the company only does complete machine assembly and software adaptation, then when encountering precision issues or process changes at the customer site, the initiative for iteration is not in its own hands—you have to wait for the supplier to make changes. This waiting cycle is fatal in the face of the capacity pressure calculated by the day in wafer fabs.
PLSINTEC has chosen another path: full-stack independent R&D. The company has built an integrated technology stack platform covering optical sensing, embedded control, composite algorithms, and AI agents. It actually describes a vertical link from hardware to intelligence: the bottom layer is optical sensing, solving "whether it can be seen"; above that is embedded control, solving "whether it can be aligned and move stably"; further up are composite algorithms, converting collected raw signals into usable measurement results; and the top layer is the AI agent, endowing the equipment with a certain degree of independent judgment and optimization capabilities.
| Something More Valuable Than Single-Point Breakthroughs
If there are only one or two pieces of equipment, even if the performance is good, the company is essentially still an "equipment vendor"—with a single revenue structure, weak anti-cyclical ability, and a clearly visible valuation ceiling.
PLSINTEC's current product system covers inspection solutions for 3D morphology, thin film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay accuracy, 2D&3D AOI, sheet resistance and resistivity, and stress. The business covers wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging, and optical communication fields, and continues to extend to special process scenarios such as third- and fourth-generation semiconductors and new displays.
Recategorizing these products by scenario:
Wafer manufacturing corresponds to thin film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay accuracy, and stress, which is the traditional main battlefield for metrology and also the place with the highest precision requirements;
Advanced packaging corresponds to 3D morphology, 2D&3D AOI, and inspection requirements related to RDL and Bump, which is the fastest-growing direction in recent years;
Optical communication and special processes (third- and fourth-generation semiconductors, new displays) are incremental scenarios, belonging to advance positioning.
| Why Institutions Are Betting at This Time
The investing institutions in this round stated: "When investing in hard-tech equipment, we have always valued whether the underlying technology is in our own hands. PLSINTEC insists on full-stack independent R&D from optical systems to AI agents, with an independent R&D rate of core modules exceeding 95%. This allows it to iterate independently across multiple metrology dimensions such as film thickness, morphology, overlay, and defects, rather than relying on external integration. What we see is not a single-point breakthrough, but a product matrix taking shape—which is also the key to our judgment on whether the company can transition from a single equipment vendor to a platform-type enterprise. The domestic substitution of high-end metrology and inspection has just begun, and PLSINTEC has the opportunity to occupy an important position in this process."
How to understand this?
First is the "independent iteration capability." The institutions did not stop at the conclusion of "high independent R&D rate," but applied it to specific dimensions—film thickness, morphology, overlay, and defects. These dimensions are precisely the areas where domestic equipment has found it most difficult to break through in the past. Being able to iterate independently in these dimensions means that the equipment can continue to be optimized after entering the production line, rather than being a one-time delivery with subsequent passivity.
Second is the "product matrix." This sentence reveals the valuation logic: a single-point breakthrough can support a good company, but only a product matrix can support a platform-type enterprise. The ceilings of the two are completely different.
There is also a more macro signal: the funds in this round are explicitly directed towards advanced processes and advanced packaging, covering segments such as TSV, RDL, Bump, and HBM. This shows that capital's bet on metrology and inspection is shifting towards the back-end and advanced packaging. HBM-related processes have been extremely hot in recent years, and every step of HBM stacking, bonding, and TSV is inseparable from high-precision metrology and inspection. This is a real increment on the demand side, not just a concept.
| The Tests Lie Ahead
The statement by Lei Jianfeng, founder and chairman of PLSINTEC, did not avoid the difficulties:
"Currently, competition in the semiconductor industry chain is becoming increasingly fierce, and the financing environment for hard tech remains full of challenges. The company's completion of a hundred-million-yuan Series A financing is the capital market's recognition of the company's technological capabilities and development potential. The path to self-reliance and self-improvement in semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment is still full of difficulties and a long way to go. The company adheres to the spirit of hard work and rising to challenges, and continues to contribute to the national semiconductor industry's efforts to break free from international blockades and achieve comprehensive breakthroughs."
For an equipment company, a hundred-million-yuan financing solves the problem of "whether there is money to make and deliver the products," but it cannot solve several other things: whether the customer validation cycle can be shortened, whether mass production consistency can be stabilized, and whether the precision requirements of the next-generation process can be met. These can only be polished over time and project by project.
Notably, the valuation logic for Series B and C will switch from "technology narrative" to "revenue structure." At that time, investors will look at: which lines in the product matrix have truly generated scaled revenue, what proportion of the increment brought by advanced packaging accounts for, and whether customer concentration is controllable. This is the real answer sheet for platform-type enterprises.
Pulling the lens back a bit, the domestic substitution in the metrology and inspection segment has indeed just begun. A 15% localization rate and an ultra-high-end share of less than 5% indicate both the gap and the space. The continuous growth of the market size (with a CAGR of over 17.5%) provides domestic manufacturers with a window to "substitute while growing."
The corporate data and quotes involved in this article are all from official public information; the market landscape data is cited from SEMI, YOLE, Bernstein, and organized public research reports from securities firms, without speculative extensions.