On April 17, 2025, the semiconductor industry chain experienced a strong surge.Chipone Microelectronics saw a rise of over 7% in early trading, with stocks like Xiaocheng Technology and Fuman Microelectronics also following suit, leading to an overall increase of 2.93% in the sector, with a net inflow of 326 million yuan from major funds.This unusual movement is driven by dual forces: the policy side’s “self-controllable” initiative and the market side’s “AI computing power explosion” — the National Big Fund’s third phase is focusing 344 billion yuan on equipment and materials, combined with a global surge in demand for AI chips, propelling the semiconductor industry into a new growth cycle.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of integrated circuits from January to March 2025 increased by 18.3% year-on-year, with demand for automotive electronics and industrial control chips growing by over 30%. Meanwhile, the new regulations from the General Administration of Customs clearly state that “the place of wafer production is the place of origin,” forcing domestic wafer fabs to accelerate the adoption of domestic equipment, with companies like Northern Huachuang and Zhongwei achieving a penetration rate of over 30% for etching and thin-film deposition equipment. The dual resonance of policy and market is driving the semiconductor industry from “import dependence” to “independent innovation.” In this article, we will analyze the current situation. Welcometo follow our public account, and we look forward to discussing with everyone.
Policy and Technology Resonance: Why is the Semiconductor Sector Strengthening Against the Trend?
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Accelerated Domestic Substitution and Tariff Countermeasures
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Equipment Breakthrough: Northern Huachuang’s 28nm etching machine has entered the mass production line of SMIC, with the penetration rate of domestic equipment in wafer fabs increasing from 15% in 2023 to 30% in 2025.
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Material Upgrade: Shanghai Silicon Industry’s 12-inch silicon wafer yield has reached 90%, and Jiangfeng Electronics’ 7nm target material has passed TSMC certification, with the domestic production rate of mature process materials exceeding 50%.
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Policy Benefits: The Ministry of Finance provides a 15% tax credit for the purchase of domestic equipment, and the new regulations from the General Administration of Customs have increased the capacity utilization rate of domestic mature process to 20%.
AI Computing Power and Automotive Electronics Demand Explosion
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AI Chips: The price of NVIDIA’s H100 chip has soared to $45,000 per unit, indicating a huge space for domestic substitution. Huawei’s Ascend 910B achieves 7nm computing power with a 14nm process, reaching 83% of the performance of the H100.
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Automotive Electronics: SMIC’s 55nm BCD process has passed automotive certification, with monthly production capacity increasing to 80,000 wafers, capable of replacing similar products from TI.
The “Breakthrough Strategies” of Three Leading Companies
1. Chipone Microelectronics (688508.SH): The “Dark Horse” of Automotive-grade Chips
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Core Actions:
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In the first quarter of 2025, net profit reached 41.07 million yuan (up 72.54% year-on-year), with revenue from high/low voltage drive chips and digital power chips increasing by 120% year-on-year.
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Collaborating with BYD to develop automotive-grade MCUs, planning to mass-produce 14nm automotive-grade chips in 2025, filling a domestic gap.
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Technical Barriers:
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Self-developed BCD process achieves a breakthrough at the 55nm node, improving chip energy efficiency by 30% and reducing costs by 25%.
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Intelligent Power Modules (IPM) have been applied in the electric control systems of new energy vehicles, with market share increasing to 15%.
2. SMIC (688981.SH): The “Capacity King” of Mature Processes
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Core Actions:
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In 2025, an additional 340,000 pieces/month of 12-inch wafer capacity will be added, focusing on mature processes of 28nm and above to meet the demand for automotive electronics and industrial control.
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The Hangzhou factory is urgently increasing production of a certain model of key chips, with capacity utilization reaching 95%, and the revenue share of automotive-grade chips increasing to 25%.
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Data Support:
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In 2024, revenue is expected to reach 45.6 billion yuan (up 18% year-on-year), with mature processes contributing 65% of revenue and gross margin increasing to 28%.
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The global market share of 28nm capacity is expected to increase from 8% in 2023 to 12% in 2025.
3. Northern Huachuang (002371.SZ): The “Invisible Champion” of Equipment Localization
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Core Actions:
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Orders for 2025 are already booked into 2026, with etching machines and thin-film deposition equipment winning bids from leading companies like SMIC and Yangtze Memory Technologies, with monthly bid amounts exceeding 1.2 billion yuan.
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Launched the first ion implantation equipment, Sirius MC313, filling a domestic gap, with yield rates reaching international mainstream levels.
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Technical Breakthroughs:
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The 14nm etching machine has passed TSMC verification, with the market share of 28nm equipment increasing to 25%, and the penetration rate of domestic equipment exceeding 30%.
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In 2024, R&D investment accounted for 23%, with 587 new patents covering the entire process of etching, thin film, and cleaning.
Industry Trend Forecast: Three Transformations from “Substitution” to “Leadership”
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Policy-Driven “Acceleration of Independence”
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Financial Support: The National Big Fund’s third phase is focusing 344 billion yuan on equipment and materials, with domestic equipment procurement expected to grow by 45% in 2025.
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Rule Restructuring: The new regulation of “the place of wafer production is the place of origin” is pushing domestic wafer fabs to accelerate domestic substitution, with a target of over 60% self-sufficiency rate for mature process materials by 2025.
Technology-Driven “Efficiency Revolution”
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Advanced Packaging: TSMC’s CoWoS capacity is expected to double to 660,000 pieces by 2025, with Taiwanese manufacturers consolidating their advantages in AI chip packaging.
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Photonics Chips: The ultra-high-speed photonic chips developed in Hangzhou will be released in May, with information transmission speeds increasing by a hundredfold, and energy consumption only 1/10 of traditional chips.
Market-Driven “Demand Explosion”
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AI Computing Power: The global AI chip market is expected to exceed $80 billion by 2025, with Chinese companies significantly increasing their participation in edge computing and autonomous driving.
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Automotive Electronics: The demand for automotive-grade chips is expected to grow by 30% annually, with the market size reaching 120 billion yuan by 2025, and domestic substitution space exceeding 50%.
The semiconductor industry is at a historical intersection of “domestic substitution” and “technological breakthroughs.” Chipone Microelectronics’ automotive-grade chips, SMIC’s mature process capacity, and Northern Huachuang’s equipment breakthroughs represent a full-chain upgrade from design, manufacturing to equipment in the industry. In the future, policy benefits (such as tax credits and localization subsidies) and technological breakthroughs (such as photonic chips and 3nm equipment) will continue to drive high-quality development in the industry.
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Disclaimer: The information in this article is compiled from publicly available data for industry research purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The market has risks, and decisions should be made cautiously!