Benefiting from national strategies and market drivers, China’s semiconductor industry is thriving. The Huahong Group’s Huahong Hongxin Fund is actively positioning itself along the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. Recently, it made an exclusive investment in the semiconductor testing equipment company, Dashu Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dashu Technology”), deepening its strategic deployment in this critical field.
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Exclusive Investment in Dashu Technology to Strengthen Semiconductor Testing Capabilities
Dashu Technology, established in 2018, is a high-tech enterprise focused on the research and development of semiconductor measurement and laboratory electron microscope core components, as well as the operation and maintenance of electron beam equipment. Notably, Dashu Technology has achieved success in the consumable and fragile components of electron beam equipment and has already achieved large-scale production.
Currently, the company’s product line continues to expand, covering key components such as electron guns, ion guns, detectors, and apertures. Additionally, the company’s independently developed thermal field emission electron source and liquid gallium ion source products have reached globally leading performance and lifespan levels, and they can be well compatible with imported products across various models, successfully overcoming the challenge of domestic substitution for key components.
It is reported that after this round of financing, Dashu Technology’s stable supply capacity will provide higher quality core component support for domestic electron microscope manufacturers; at the same time, it will also help foreign semiconductor measurement and electron microscope companies achieve localized procurement within China, improving service efficiency.
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Huahong Hongxin Fund’s Semiconductor Investment Landscape: 10 Companies Invested
The Huahong Hongxin Fund was established in January 2021, jointly initiated by Huahong Group, Guofang Capital, Tongfu Microelectronics, and the Jing’an District Guidance Fund, with Guofang Capital serving as the fund manager. As of now, the fund has successfully launched two phases, with a total subscription scale exceeding 2 billion yuan, closely focusing on the semiconductor industry chain, conducting upstream and downstream investment layouts in areas such as chips, front-end and back-end equipment, materials, components, EDA/IP, and more.
The first phase of the fund has completed its three-year investment period and has just entered the exit phase, having cumulatively invested in 21 direct investment companies, yielding two companies listed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, with a DPI (distributions to paid-in capital) exceeding 30%. The second phase of the fund is also set to complete its first closing by the end of 2024, officially commencing investment. Notably, Tongfu Microelectronics plans to invest 100 million yuan to subscribe to the second phase of the Huahong Hongxin industrial fund.
According to Tianyancha, the Huahong Hongxin Fund has invested in a total of 9 semiconductor-related companies and one investment institution—Shanghai Guofang Xindi Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership). The 9 semiconductor companies mainly include Xinzhuo Technology, Jiuwu Industry, Shanghai Super Semiconductor, Shenzhen Aipute, Xianpu Technology, Longtu Photomask, Hunan Jinxin, Junyuan Electronics, and Zhejiang Juma Intelligent. Additionally, the institution it invested in, Shanghai Guofang Xindi Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership), has currently only invested in one company, Aike Micro Semiconductor.
In terms of investment timing, most investments were concentrated before 2022, while the investments in Dashu Technology and Xianpu Semiconductor are the latest actions in the past two years, indicating the fund’s continued focus on emerging fields and key links.
By the end of April 2024, Xianpu Semiconductor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. announced the completion of its Series B financing, led by the Huahong Hongxin Fund’s private equity fund, primarily to ensure the construction of Xianpu’s new factory in Maqiao. Xianpu Semiconductor was founded in 2004 by Dr. Jiang Xiaosong, a returnee from studying abroad, in the Minhang District of Shanghai. It is a developer of semiconductor gas purification equipment, focusing on the research and production of various terminal gas purifiers and gas purification equipment with a wide flow range. Its products are widely used in electronics, optoelectronics, optical fibers, photovoltaics, chemicals, and other fields.
At the end of December 2022, Shenzhen Longtu Photomask Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Longtu Photomask”) completed pre-IPO strategic financing, bringing in new shareholders including the Huahong Hongxin Fund, Silan Holdings (Zhejiang), and Jingning No. 1 Fund, with the financing funds used for the construction of a high-end semiconductor chip mask manufacturing base in Zhuhai. Longtu Photomask was established in April 2010 and is a specialized “little giant” enterprise focusing on the research, production, and sales of semiconductor masks. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen and has established a subsidiary, Zhuhai Longtu Photomask Technology Co., Ltd., in Zhuhai, focusing on the research and production of high-end semiconductor chip masks. The company successfully went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Sci-Tech Innovation Board in August 2024.
Shanghai Super Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Super Semiconductor”) was established in 2015 and focuses on the design of integrated circuit products for high-end high-voltage power semiconductors. It is the first domestic supplier of multi-layer epitaxial process high-voltage super junction MOSFET and super junction IGBT products, breaking international monopolies and achieving independent innovation in key technology fields. The Huahong Hongxin Fund completed its investment in Super Semiconductor in September 2022.
In September 2022, the Huahong Hongxin Fund also led the investment in the domestic DSP chip representative enterprise Hunan Jinxin Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jinxin Electronics”). Founded in October 2012 and headquartered in Changsha, Hunan, Jinxin Electronics focuses on the design of mid-to-high-end digital signal processing chips (DSP) and develops embedded solution designs based on its products. The company has successfully developed and mass-produced a series of digital signal processors represented by ADP32, AVP32, and ADP16, which are 32-bit fixed-point, 32-bit floating-point, and 16-bit fixed-point operation products.
In March 2022, Shenzhen Aipute Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Aipute”) successfully completed strategic financing, with the Huahong Hongxin Fund becoming a new shareholder. Public information shows that Aipute was established in 2012 and is a high-tech enterprise in China focused on the research and design of domestically produced 32-bit microprocessor chips. It has independently developed the first complete set of domestically owned microprocessor IP library certified for mass production of hundreds of millions of chips and has developed and mass-produced domestically produced MCU products based on the RISC-V core, widely used in various fields such as home appliances, consumer electronics, smart hardware, security control, medical electronics, smart homes, automotive electronics, and the Internet of Things. It is reported that in February of this year, Aipute Microelectronics launched the APT32F004X, a domestically produced RISC core 32-bit MCU, which has attracted significant attention in the industry.
Meanwhile, Aike Micro Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., invested by Shanghai Guofang Xindi Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership), focuses on high-end chip design in the wireless communication field. The company was established on August 20, 2018, and is headquartered in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, with R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and other locations. In 2022, the company underwent a change in investors, bringing in several institutions including Suzhou Juyuan Zhenxin Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) and Shanghai Huahong Hongxin Fund Private Equity Partnership (Limited Partnership).
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Conclusion
The Huahong Hongxin Fund’s exclusive investment in Dashu Technology not only recognizes the innovative capabilities in the domestic semiconductor testing equipment field but also further enhances Huahong Group’s layout in the semiconductor industry chain. By combining direct and indirect investments, the Huahong Hongxin Fund is actively empowering various key links in the domestic semiconductor industry, helping to improve the self-controllable level and overall competitiveness of the industry chain.
In the future, with the continuous investment from the state in the semiconductor industry and the ongoing enhancement of technological innovation capabilities, industrial capital represented by the Huahong Hongxin Fund will play an increasingly important role in the development and growth of China’s semiconductor industry.
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