Interesting read. According to techinsights a low entry phone from Xiaomi made from 90% Chinese components. Any thoughts lads?
Chinese semiconductor industry
- Thread starter Hendrik_2000
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This is wonderful. Now, Chinese EDA tools are available up to 5nm process. IIRC, that article said America is trying to strong arm TSMC by withholding EDA tools. This is a great opportunity for Chinese EDA suppliers to work with TSMC and Samsung to diversify their risk. I see TSMC/Samsung very willing to work with Chinese players after these recent threats. In turn, it will allow Chinese suppliers to continue to get better.
I think this could be a problem for Chinese IC industry. Most people would stay because they are at a much higher position in China vs America, but some may go back to America. I think this serves mostly as a scare tactic. But in the end, it may just scare Chinese nationals from working from American firms in the future.
I agree it is unconstitutional. I mean it really depends how this gets implemented. If they have to pay a fine, then it's no different than Taiwan criminalizing people with 10 million NT. The fine is so low that I bet most mainland firms just paid it off. In America, you can't take away someone's passport for working with a foreign company. Maybe you can fine them, but even that is legally dubious since the two countries are not at war. There are a lot of rights you get when you are naturalized.
I wonder what will happen if China imposes similar laws that prevents Chinese people from working at American firms. There probably a lot of Chinese people working at various Chinese subsidiaries of American companies like Applied Material and Nvidia. Putting a law like that would cripple these companies' China offices and allow Chinese competitors to plunder them for talent.
Thanks. This is another great example of Chinese companies getting itself into TSMC supply chain. With America basically threatening TSMC at this point, I bet they are looking at anyway to get themself off that threat. Working with mainland companies or any non-American companies is a great way to do that.
The natsec hawks with their craziness is just American companies less and less appealing.
US persons means passport holders and incorporated legal persons (ie companies based in the US) I assume. No, they're not a free country. US citizens are also not legally allowed to visit Cuba for tourism, let alone work there.
Let's stop hating Xiaomi, they're a great company
I mean this will increasingly be the future. There are a lot of low cost Chinese phone designers that corner most of the global south. They are not looking for cutting edge performance or battery life. It's just the normal case of Chinese companies starting low and moving up the value chain. It helps that the cell makers themselves are also Chinese and concerned about losing American supply chain.
Btw, unisoc does have 5G RF chip now and is launching it's 2nd gen 5G chip soon. With this technology (that is producible by SMIC N+2 technology in the future), they really can go probably 100% with Chinese supply chain.
That would be thoroughly irrational on the part of the United States, since in the this scenario China is able to make the full gamut of high tech goods of comparable quality to the United States and as such other countries can easily just decide to continue purchasing alternative goods from China, and especially if the prices that China offers are the same or lower for the same quality, the US will lose out big time and will actually be mocked and sneered at for being hopelessly spiteful. The United States will only get its way if it combined those types of embargos with the threat of or actual military action.
Many will renounce US citizenship and regain China citizenship.
startup funding september 2022
Chip Design
Zhaoxin Semiconductor raised billions of yuan (CNY 1000.0M is ~$144.5M) in Series A+ funding led by Sun Rock Capital and Shanghai State-Owned Assets Management, joined by China Insurance Investment Fund, Real Power Capital, cloud computing provider Jiangsu Eazytec, and previous investors. Zhaoxin makes for desktop PCs, laptops, all-in-ones, cloud-based terminals, and servers. Funds will be used for x86 CPU R&D. Founded in 2013, it is based in Shanghai, China.Fremont Micro Devices (FMD) raised CNY 500.0M (~$70.5M) in pre-IPO financing led by Huaxu Investment, followed by Shenzhen Venture Capital, Yuexiu Industrial Investment Fund, and others. A fabless company, Fremont Micro Devices designs , power management chips, and memory chips. Its products include 8-bit and 32-bit MCUs, EEPROMs, PMICs, and NOR flash chips. It currently targets consumer, home appliances, and communications. The funding will help it expand to automotive and industrial control markets. Founded in 2005, it is based in Shenzhen, China.
Yusur Technology raised (CNY 100.0M is ~$14.3M) in Series B funding led by Financial Street Group, joined by China Construction Bank as well as previous investors including Lingjun Investment, Halo Capital Group, and Quanzhong Investment. The startup has developed a software-defined data processing unit (DPU) for database acceleration in data centers that uses its own Kernel Processing Unit architecture. Yusur’s second-generation DPU went into production earlier this year and is expected to be released soon, and the company has begun work on its third-gen chip. Funds will be used for R&D. Founded in 2018, it is based in Beijing, China.
Codefair Semiconductor raised tens of millions of yuan (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in a Series A+ round with investors including Stony Creek Capital, South China Venture Capital, and Chang’an Capital. Codefair Semiconductor makes for industrial applications such as industrial control, QR code readers, human-machine interfaces, industrial gateways, and access control terminals. It has products based on Arm and RISC-V architectures. Funds will be used for next-generation product development, mass production, marketing, and hiring. Based in Xiamen, China, it was founded in 2018.
LinkZill Technology raised (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in a pre-Series A round led by Apricot Capital and joined by ZhenFund. LinkZill develops (TFT) semiconductor chips for high-throughput DNA synthesis, active-matrix digital microfluidics, high-throughput biochemical/photoelectric sensors, and scientific research. It also provides TFT materials and test systems. Funds will be used to promote the application of TFT semiconductor chips in the field of life sciences. Founded in 2019, it is based in Hangzhou, China.
EDA
Physim Electronic Technology raised tens of millions of yuan (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in Series A+ funding from CasStar. Physim offers a that encompasses electromagnetic simulation, electrothermal simulation, DC analysis for power integrity, and heat dissipation analysis. Its solutions are applicable to chip, package, and system design. It also offers design services, including wafer-level packaging, test boards, advanced packaging, and board-level hardware. Funds will be used for hiring, industrial integration, and merging or acquiring new firms. Founded in 2019, it is based in Shanghai, China.Equipment
NaDing New Material received tens of millions of yuan (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in angel funding from Addor Capital. NaDing New Material has developed nanomaterial dispersion and coating technology for PCBs and packaging, which it says can reduce the water and power consumption of the traditional copper deposition process. Based in Suzhou, China, it was founded in 2022.New Dimension Micro-Nano Technology received tens of millions of yuan (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in angel financing led by Qianrong Holdings. The startup is developing wafer-level nanoimprinting technology. Based in Suzhou, China, it was founded in 2022.
Shenzhen JLC Electronics raised over led by CMG-SDIC Capital, joined by C&D Emerging Investments and Eastern Bell Capital. JLC provides PCB and PCBA manufacturing services, focusing on R&D, sampling, and small batch quantities. It also offers component procurement, SMT processing, CNC machining, and 3D printing. Founded in 2006, it is based in Shenzhen, China.
Packaging
Leader-Tech Semiconductor raised CNY 700.0M (~$98.8M) in a Series A+ round led by Guangdong Macao Semiconductor Industry Investment, Guangzhou Industrial Investment Group, and Goldstone Investment, joined by other investors including Dening Capital and Qianhai Great Wall Fund. Leader-Tech develops chip-on-film (COF) packaging substrates for LED displays. COF enables mounting of a chip on a flexible circuit. Funds will be used for R&D and expanding production capacity. Based in Jiangsu, China, it was founded in 2017.EPS Technology drew (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in a Series A round that included Zhengqi Holdings and Zhongxin Venture Capital. EPS makes BT substrate materials and ABF films for packaging. Its products are used in miniLED and microLED display substrates as well as IC packaging such as BGA, CSP, FCCSP, and FCBGA. Founded in 2015, it is based in Shenzhen, China.
Metrology
Boardstone Intelligence Technology received tens of millions of yuan (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in pre-Series A funding from Shenzhen Capital Group, China Prosperity Capital, Cash Capital, and Fusheng Capital. Boardstone Intelligence provides for consumer electronics, automotive, and semiconductor industries. The company currently offers general-purpose microscopic 3D topography measurement systems, white light interference detection equipment, and computational phase 3D measurement systems. Funds will be used for product development, marketing, and hiring. Based in Shenzhen, China, it was founded in 2018.Vomma Technology drew (CNY 10.0M is ~$1.4M) in pre-Series A+ funding from Dongrui Investment. Vomma develops for defect inspection in BGA packages, wirebonds, and PCBs, as well as in OLED screens and CPI films for mobile devices. It says its technology can also be used to optimize VR screens by imitating the human eye to measure the comfort and virtual image surface distance. Funds will be used R&D, hiring, and marketing. Founded in 2019, it is based in Shanghai, China.
Materials
Vital Thin Film Materials (VTFM) raised CNY 4500.0M (~$633.9M) in Series B financing led by CICC Capital, joined by China Electronics Technology Fund Management, SDIC, Minmetals Development, Greater Bay Area Homeland Investment, China Merchant Securities Capital, Gree Electric, Huafa Group, Morgan Stanley China Equity Investment, Industrial Bank Group, and others. VTFM produces and recycles sputtering targets and evaporation materials for physical vapor deposition. Products include high-purity metals, alloys, and ceramics for applications including display, photovoltaic, semiconductor, LED, data storage, and optics. Started in 2015 as a joint venture between Vital Materials and Unicore, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vital Materials in 2017. It is based in Guangzhou, China.
Lihao Semiconductor Materials with investors including Changjiang Securities Innovation Investment, Oceanpine Capital, V Fund, Harvest Capital, Zhejiang United Investment Group, China-Belgium Direct Equity Investment Fund, China-US Green Fund, and existing shareholders IDG Capital, Zhejiang Chint Electrics, and Jolmo Capital. Lihao Semiconductor manufactures high-purity polycrystalline silicon for photovoltaics and semiconductor chips. Funds will be used for R&D and the second phase of construction on its production facility, with the goal of producing 200,000 tons of material annually. Based in Xining, China, it was founded in 2021.
Fujian Deer Technology raised from Anhui Transportation Holding Group, Qinchuang Bole, Turing PE, Meiya Wutong, Guangzhou Zhidian Network Technology, and Triniti Capital. Deer Technology makes , electronic wet chemicals, high-purity reagents, and other fluorine-containing materials used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, LED displays, optical fibers, and photovoltaics. Based in Fujian, China, it was founded in 2014.
iSabers Materials raised from Beijing Integrated Circuit Advanced Chip Fund, SunGrow Power Supply, Beijing Futian Industrial Investment Holding Group, CCB Trust, and Wofo Capital. iSabers Materials makes silicon carbide (SiC) substrates for advanced packaging and heterogenous integration. Funds will be used for developing new production lines. Founded in 2020, it is based in Beijing, China.
Nanovate New Materials raised millions of yuan (~CNY1.0M is ~$0.1M) in angel funding from Zhengwei Group. The startup makes functional electronic materials such as high-performance conductive pastes, resistive pastes, and electronic packaging pastes. Based in Nanjing, China, it was founded in 2021.
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