The manufacturing cost has been reduced by 90%, and the terminal products have been mass-produced. Liquid crystal phased array antenna developer "Huameitai" has completed nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A round financing | Exclusive report from 36Kr

Text | Liu Jingqiong

Editor | A Zhi

Cover Source | Provided by the enterprise

36Kr learned that Beijing Huameiti Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huameiti"), a developer of liquid crystal phased array antennas, announced the completion of a nearly 100 million yuan Pre-A round of financing. This round of financing was led by Xingxiang Capital, with follow-on investments from Guoke Jiahe, Xiangjiang Group Dakecheng Fund, and Leyi Capital. The funds raised will be used for the construction of a liquid crystal phased array antenna module factory, personnel expansion, and market development. Yunxiu Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round.

Founded in 2016, Huameiti focuses on the research and development and manufacturing of low-cost, low-power, and miniaturized liquid crystal phased array antennas. It is a "Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative" enterprise in Beijing. Xiu Wei, the founder and CEO, is a Doctor of Engineering in Information and Communication Engineering from the National University of Defense Technology. He once served as the chief designer of the 921 Movable Satellite Communication Antenna Project for Manned Spaceflight, with 28 years of experience in the satellite industry, including overall planning, product R & D, and engineering projects. The core technical team members include doctoral supervisors from well - known universities and chief designers of model projects in institutional research institutes. The team holds over 70 invention patents related to satellites, radars, antennas, etc.

According to Xiu Wei, the commercialization of the liquid crystal phased array antenna terminal products has been completed, and the company is now supplying products in bulk to high - orbit satellite and consumer - grade customers. After the module factory is completed this second half of the year, the production capacity of its satellite antenna terminals will increase more than ten times compared to last year.

Industrial - grade satellite phased array antenna terminal

Self - developed high - scarcity liquid crystal technology, leading in process verification and mass production

Data from the US Satellite Industry Association in 2024 shows that in the entire satellite industry chain, ground terminals are the segment with the highest value, accounting for 52.8% of the total industry chain revenue. As the core component of ground terminals, the cost of phased array antennas determines the commercialization process of satellite terminals.

Phased array antennas were first used in military radars and later extended to civilian high - orbit satellites for communication purposes. Traditional phased array technology achieves beam scanning by independently controlling the phase shifters of each antenna unit and relies on semiconductor T/R components for phase and amplitude control. It has advantages such as fast scanning speed and strong anti - interference ability and is now mostly used in some cost - insensitive industries. However, traditional phased array technology requires a large number of T/R chips, complex CMOS, and micro - assembly processes, which drive up the overall manufacturing cost of the terminal. Moreover, its multi - layer stacked structure results in a relatively large terminal volume, making it inconvenient to carry and move. With the accelerated construction of China's low - orbit satellite constellations and the increasing demand for satellite communication from hundreds of millions of consumer - grade terminals, the market urgently needs a new type of phased array technology with lower cost, lower power consumption, and smaller size.

Liquid crystal phased array technology is an ideal "alternative". This technology uses liquid crystal phase - shifting units to change the molecular arrangement and regulate the phase of electromagnetic waves through an external electric field, without the need for traditional T/R components. It has relative advantages in terms of cost, power consumption, and volume. "Huameiti's products use liquid crystal antenna panels, which can be manufactured using existing low - generation liquid crystal display production lines. The process difficulty and manufacturing cost are reduced by 90% compared with traditional technology routes. The simple single - layer glass whole - plate structure reduces the power consumption and volume of the liquid crystal phased array technology to less than 25% of the traditional route." Xiu Wei introduced.

Although liquid crystal phased array technology is theoretically promising, there are many challenges in its actual implementation. It involves the integration of multiple disciplines such as electromagnetics, microwaves, and materials, and the industrial chain is not as complete as that of traditional semiconductors. From antenna design to panel film - layer structure and then to process manufacturing, enterprises need to conduct independent R & D from scratch. Currently, only 4 companies in the world are capable of taking this technology out of the laboratory, namely KYMETA in the US (invested by Bill Gates), Alcan in Germany, NexTenna in Israel, and Huameiti in China. Among them, the latest progress of Alcan and NexTenna remains at the prototype stage, and only KYMETA and Huameiti have truly entered the market for sales.

Xiu Wei said that "compared with KYMETA, Huameiti's products can be 30% to 40% more efficient. Under the same performance indicators, the size and weight of Huameiti's products are 30% to 40% lower than those of KYMETA, and Huameiti's cost is much lower."

It is reported that since 2018, Huameiti has been cooperating with leading domestic panel enterprises in the development of liquid crystal phased array antenna panels. After the transformation and upgrading of the production line and continuous iteration of the process, by 2022, the panel factory had the ability to deliver products in bulk, and Huameiti became the only enterprise in China with full - process verification experience for liquid crystal phased array antennas.

Commercialization has been achieved in satellite and consumer - grade scenarios, and the new factory's production capacity is expected to increase more than ten times

At the beginning of its establishment, Huameiti formulated a commercialization strategy of "high - orbit satellites first, then low - orbit satellites; Internet of Things first, then Internet; domestic market first, then international market".

Currently, nearly half of Huameiti's orders come from high - orbit satellite industry customers in fields such as power, water conservancy, and meteorology. Its liquid crystal phased array products have been gradually applied to high - orbit satellites. At the same time, the company is also in in - depth contact with low - orbit satellite customers. "Around the next year or the year after, when the number of low - orbit satellites increases significantly, the order volume for low - orbit satellites will also rise," Xiu Wei added.

To meet the rapidly growing orders from satellite customers, Huameiti is accelerating the construction of a module factory. Xiu Wei expects that after the module factory is completed and put into operation this second half of the year, the phased array antenna module and complete machine assembly will be fully automated, and the annual production capacity of phased array products will increase from 500 units to about 5000 units.

Another part of the company's orders comes from consumer - grade customers, covering fields such as outdoor brands and automobiles, and the order volume far exceeds that of satellite industry customers. In April this year, Himalaya, the high - end outdoor brand under Camel, launched the world's first "Mount Everest Custom Edition" high - altitude one - piece suit equipped with satellite positioning, which is supported by the self - developed flexible satellite direct - connection antenna technology of Huameiti. This technology allows wearers to use all - weather direct - connection satellite services, including high - precision Beidou satellite positioning, high - precision trajectory locking, satellite calls, and emergency calls.

Consumer - grade wearable satellite communication terminal

In addition, Huameiti also provided an ultra - lightweight satellite Internet broadband portable terminal for the Camel Mountaineering Team, which enables team members to conduct all - weather high - definition video live - streaming services via satellite Internet in high - altitude areas. In addition to its applications in the consumer - grade field, Huameiti is also exploring the application of transparent phased array antennas in automobiles. According to the latest news, Huameiti has reached a cooperation intention with an automobile enterprise. Currently, the annual production capacity of Huameiti's consumer - grade antennas is about 20,000 units.

Consumer - grade vehicle - mounted phased array antenna terminal

Since the first introduction of external capital in 2019, Huameiti has completed 3 rounds of financing. Previous investors also include Guoding Capital and AVIC International. Yu Shaoliang, the person in charge of financing, told 36Kr that Huameiti will officially launch a new round of financing in the second half of the year and is currently in contact with a group of investors with industry resources.

Views of the investors

Xingxiang Capital said: Relying on its core advantages such as self - developed metasurface intelligent coding phased array antenna technology and liquid crystal variable capacitor phase - shifting technology, Huameiti has built a complete domestic technical chain for liquid crystal phased array products from R & D to mass production. The technology is mature, and the product matrix is rich, providing diverse liquid crystal phased array product lines and terminal solutions for many industry customers. The company has a clear development prospect. The company's establishment of production capacity in Zhuzhou is conducive to promoting the large - scale application of Beidou and enhancing Zhuzhou's "Beidou brand".

Guoke Jiahe said: We have always been concerned about the commercial space industry, especially enterprises that have both technological innovation and actual commercial implementation scenarios and monetization capabilities. Huameiti's liquid crystal phased array technology helps to significantly reduce the cost of satellite communication infrastructure while reducing power consumption and volume, which is very important for the real industrialization of satellite communication. It is very difficult for the team to achieve mass production and sales of innovative products steadily. We also hope that the company will receive more attention and support in its subsequent development.

Xiangjiang Group Dakecheng Fund said: With the accelerated integration of the "Space - Air - Ground" large - scale interconnection, the satellite Internet is entering the stage of accelerated constellation construction and regular launches. The improvement of space - based infrastructure and strong policy support will provide strong impetus for the development of terminal applications. Huameiti is the first company in China to commercialize low - cost, low - power, and high - efficiency phased array antenna products based on liquid crystal metamaterials. The team has solid technology, rich experience, and high - efficiency iteration. Relying on core technologies such as self - developed liquid crystal variable capacitor phase - shifting, it continuously builds a first - mover advantage, and its technology and process level are at the leading level in China. With the deepening of cooperation with industry customers such as the State Grid and the accelerated application in the consumer market, we believe that Huameiti is a typical enterprise in both the industrial and consumer sectors empowered by technology. It is expected to open up broad application scenarios in the industrial and consumer sectors, achieve dual - wheel drive of technological iteration and large - scale mass production, and become a leading enterprise in the satellite Internet and Internet of Things industries.