Automotive-grade silicon carbide module manufacturer raises hundreds of millions in new financing to accelerate entry into AI computing center infrastructure | Hardcore Kr Exclusive

Author | Qiao Yujie

Editor | Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that Wuxi Lips Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lips"), a manufacturer of high-performance SiC (silicon carbide) modules, recently completed a Pre-B+ round of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan. The new investors are Yangzhou Guojin and Yangzhou Longtou Capital. The funds will be mainly used for the company to layout a professional automotive-grade SiC (silicon carbide) module packaging and testing base in Yangzhou and for market promotion.

Founded in 2019, Lips is a hard technology enterprise focusing on the design, production, and sales of third-generation power semiconductor SiC modules.

Power semiconductors are the core devices for controlling power conversion. Compared with traditional IGBT modules, SiC modules have advantages such as higher voltage resistance, lower losses, and higher switching frequencies. They have obvious efficiency advantages in high-voltage and high-power scenarios such as new energy vehicle main drives, super fast charging, energy storage, power grid equipment, and AI computing power supplies.

In recent years, with the rapid expansion of upstream substrate and epitaxial production capacity and the continuous decline in costs, the replacement of IGBTs by SiC in the mid - to high - end market is accelerating. The annual compound growth rate of SiC power devices has exceeded 30%.

Ding Xuanming, the founder and CEO of Lips, introduced that the application of Lips' SiC modules in complex scenarios of high temperature, high voltage, and high current has achieved stable mass production in leading power grid equipment companies, new energy heavy - truck companies, and leading transformer enterprises. In 2026, it will further expand in the above - mentioned markets and carry out strategic cooperation with more leading enterprises.

In addition to the new energy fields such as automotive, photovoltaics, energy storage, and charging, AI data centers are regarded as an important growth point for SiC applications in the next stage. With the surge in computing power demand, data centers put forward higher requirements for power supply and distribution efficiency and space utilization. The solid - state transformer (SST) based on SiC devices is the core equipment for realizing the high - voltage DC architecture, which can significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce volume. It is one of the mainstream directions for future power architecture upgrades. Currently, multiple SiC modules of Lips with voltages ranging from 1200V to 3300V have undergone sample testing in the SSTs of many well - known domestic and foreign customers. Some projects are in the reliability verification stage, and it is expected that there will be a considerable increase in production around 2027.

In the market, in addition to the domestic market, the overseas market has also become an important growth engine for Lips. The company established a wholly - owned subsidiary in Japan in 2020 as an overseas R & D center, with many senior Japanese technical experts. At the same time, it established a sales and service center in Europe to strengthen its local solution - solving ability. Currently, Lips' products have been exported to more than 20 countries, and by 2025, the proportion of overseas sales of the company has approached half.

Since its establishment, Lips has taken technological innovation as its core strategy. The company has multiple patents in high - reliability packaging materials and packaging technologies and has established a strong independent forward - design ability and system for SiC modules. It is one of the earliest domestic manufacturers to use self - developed high - thermal - conductivity epoxy - potted SiC modules. At the same time, it jointly customizes high - heat - dissipation insulating substrate materials and processes with suppliers and introduces advanced chip bonding technologies such as ArcBonding and innovative technologies such as internal laminated busbar design in the packaging structure to reduce the stray inductance of the module, improve the power density and heat - dissipation ability of the module. In terms of application, the company has a high - level integration ability of SiC modules and is good at applications in complex scenarios such as high voltage, high temperature, and high current.

(Image source/Enterprise)

Lips has built advanced reliability laboratories, FA laboratories, and application test laboratories in Wuxi, with perfect simulation, verification, and testing capabilities, and has passed the automotive IATF16949 quality system certification. Currently, the company's products cover two major series of IGBT and SiC, and the application scenarios include new energy vehicle main drives, electric heavy trucks, energy storage, high - voltage SVG in power grids, super fast charging, and industrial power supplies. The Wuxi factory was put into production in 2022, with an annual production capacity of about 700,000 units.

After this round of financing, the funds will be mainly used for the company to layout multiple automated packaging and testing production lines for automotive - grade SiC modules in Yangzhou. The total investment in this project reaches 1 billion yuan, with a planned annual production capacity of 3 million modules. The first - phase production line is expected to be completed in 2026 and officially put into production in March 2027.

Rendering of the Yangzhou base (Image source/Enterprise)

Ding Xuanming introduced that compared with the existing production lines, the Yangzhou factory will focus on upgrading according to the "professional automotive - grade" standard: First, build a quality and reliability system according to high - end automotive standards; Second, build a dedicated SiC production line completely separated from the IGBT production line; Third, achieve fully automated assembly - line production; Fourth, support the new - generation embedded packaging structure and customized development for customers. It is expected that in 2027, the Yangzhou factory will have the ability to deliver more than 2 million modules, helping Lips to accelerate the layout of power grid and AI computing power infrastructure.