Over 400 investments: VCs cross the Shanhaiguan Pass.

After Hygon Information initiated an acquisition of Sugon, a 3.1 billion yuan "A acquires A" merger and acquisition has once again stirred up waves in the market. On June 24th, Northern Microelectronics announced that it had become the largest shareholder of Shenyang Coretronic Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Coretronic) and obtained control of the company.

As early as March this year, Northern Microelectronics signed share transfer agreements with two major shareholders of Coretronic - Shenyang Advanced Manufacturing Technology Industry Co., Ltd. and Shenyang Zhongke Tiansheng Automation Technology Co., Ltd., acquiring 19,064,915 shares and 16,899,750 shares held by them respectively.

The transaction amounts of the two deals were 1.687 billion yuan and 1.448 billion yuan respectively. Northern Microelectronics spent a total of 3.135 billion yuan to acquire 17.87% of the equity (35,964,700 shares) and officially took control of Coretronic.

This transaction has attracted market attention, which is closely related to the market positions of both parties. There's no need to elaborate on Northern Microelectronics. It is the leading semiconductor equipment company in China, with a market value of over 230 billion yuan. In 2024, the company achieved record - high performance: its revenue was nearly 30 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 35.14%, and its net profit was 5.621 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 44.17%. It ranked sixth among global semiconductor equipment manufacturers and was the only Chinese company to enter the top ten.

In contrast, Coretronic is much lower - key. Although it only has a market value of 20 billion yuan, it is the only domestic enterprise that can provide mass - production mid - to - high - end coating and developing equipment and is also the leading company in single - wafer wet processing equipment.

The combination of these two companies can generate multiplier effects in multiple fields such as products, R & D, and supply chains. It not only enhances the competitiveness of the enterprises but also improves the overall strength of China's semiconductor equipment industry. It is a win - win situation for the enterprises, shareholders, and the industry.

However, beyond the transaction, there are two details about Coretronic, known as "the first stock on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in Liaoning Province", that have caught our attention:

First, Zhongke Tiansheng, the major shareholder of Coretronic, is a company 100% controlled by the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIA). SIA not only founded Coretronic but also initiated many listed companies and technology enterprises in Liaoning Province. It can be regarded as one of the cradles of technological innovation in Liaoning.

Second, the state - owned asset institutions in Liaoning Province have always strongly supported Coretronic. Moreover, some institutions have earned about 40 times the return on this project, making it one of the classic cases of technological innovation incubation in Northeast China.

These two clues open a window for us to understand the technological innovation ecosystem in Liaoning.

Data shows that from 2020 to the first half of 2025, there were a total of 418 investment events in Liaoning, with a total financing amount of about 190 billion yuan. And after 2020, the number of investment events in Liaoning enterprises gradually increased. The Second Phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Beijing Integrated Circuit Merger and Acquisition Fund, Shenzhen Capital Group, and Huaying Capital have all flocked to Liaoning to make investments.

This new situation of "investment crossing the Shanhai Pass" is jointly promoted by the scientific research centers, advanced manufacturing industrial clusters, and the growing state - owned asset fund system in Liaoning Province.

The Story of Coretronic: Collaboration between Scientific Research Institutions and State - Owned Assets

Let's start the story with Coretronic.

In the early 2000s, China's semiconductor equipment industry was still in its infancy. The Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIA), which serves the country's major strategic needs, decided to enter this field to break through the bottleneck problems. Limited by the lack of technological accumulation at that time, SIA introduced technology from South Korea to quickly enter the semiconductor equipment field. In 2002, it jointly established Coretronic with South Korea's STL Company, with the Chinese side holding 71.43% of the shares and the South Korean side holding 28.57%.

Zong Runfu, the chairman of Coretronic who has been in office for 23 years, is a researcher from SIA. In 1988, after graduating from Harbin Institute of Technology with a master's degree, Zong joined SIA and successively served as a researcher, a department director, and the director of the Science and Technology Department. In December 2002, as the representative of the investor from SIA, he became the chairman and general manager of Coretronic.

In the early days, Coretronic's development was based on the strong support of SIA.

On the one hand, SIA continuously provided scientific research support. With its help, Coretronic broke through the technology of 8 - inch bump packaging equipment in 2005 and launched the first domestic 12 - inch advanced packaging coating and developing machine in 2007, breaking the monopoly of Tokyo Electron (TEL) in Japan and gradually opening up the market in the LED and packaging fields.

On the other hand, SIA used the resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to promote Coretronic to undertake a number of major national scientific and technological projects. For example, in 2008, Coretronic was approved to undertake the project of "Development and Industrialization of Bump Packaging Coating and Developing and Single - Wafer Wet Etching Equipment" in the National "Eleventh Five - Year Plan" Special Project of "Large - Scale Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Equipment and Complete Processes". It was the only domestic coating and developing equipment enterprise supported by this major special project, laying the foundation for Coretronic to become the leading enterprise in China's mid - to - high - end coating and developing equipment.

At that time, undertaking scientific research projects had a more practical significance for Coretronic. It obtained a large amount of R & D funds and subsidies, which enabled Coretronic to successfully survive the unprofitable startup stage.

Zong Runfu recalled in a speech, "From 2003 to 2009, the enterprise received an average of about 4 million yuan in various government science and technology project funds and talent project subsidies each year. From 2010 to 2012, due to undertaking major national science and technology projects, it received an average of about 30 million yuan in government project grants each year." These supports "alleviated the enterprise's financial pressure and solved the problems of insufficient R & D funds and self - financing ability."

It is obvious that without the strong support of SIA, it would have been extremely difficult for Coretronic, starting from scratch, to survive in the cruel market.

Moreover, SIA positioned itself as a "promoter" rather than a "dominator" of the enterprise. After Coretronic turned profitable in 2013, SIA gradually reduced its shareholding ratio and stepped back, allowing Coretronic to develop in a more market - oriented way.

In 2018, Coretronic verified and shipped its first front - end coating and developing machine, successfully entering the front - end market and officially becoming a core equipment supplier in the semiconductor field. In 2019, it became the first company in Liaoning Province to be listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.

The completion of the acquisition by Northern Microelectronics and its entry into Coretronic means that this 23 - year - old Liaoning enterprise has entered a new stage. The purpose of SIA to solve the bottleneck problems of important semiconductor equipment and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements has long been achieved.

With the support of SIA, Coretronic has attracted many state - owned investment institutions to inject capital.

Public information shows that in 2007, Liaoning Kefa Industry participated in Coretronic's Series A financing and was one of the earliest investors besides SIA. The actual controller of this company is the Liaoning Provincial State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and it is an investment platform under the state - owned asset system in Liaoning. After investing in 2007, Kefa Industry has accompanied Coretronic all the way and still holds 10.59% of the shares, being the second - largest shareholder after Northern Microelectronics.

In addition to Kefa Industry, Shenyang Science and Technology Venture Capital, the earliest venture capital institution in Liaoning, is also an important investor in Coretronic. According to a research report on Coretronic by Hejun Group, in 2015, four institutions, including Guoke Investment, Guoke Ruiqi, Shenyang Science and Technology Investment, and Guoke Zhengdao, invested 42.96 million yuan in Coretronic, among which Shenyang Science and Technology Venture Capital contributed 5 million yuan.

Current business registration information shows that Shenyang Science and Technology Venture Capital has exited the investment. The official has not disclosed how much profit this investment has made. However, according to the estimate of Hejun Consulting, the valuation of the enterprise at the time of investment was about 193 million yuan. By the end of 2021, "the market value of the shares held by Shenyang Science and Technology Investment was about 250 million yuan, a 50 - fold increase in six years."

An article on the official account of Shengjing Financial Holding partially confirms the above inference. It states that "(Science and Technology Venture Capital) has achieved a 30 - to - 40 - fold increase in state - owned capital through its investments in Coretronic and Tuojing Technology." Whether it is 30 times, 40 times, or 50 times, the return on this investment must be very substantial. It should be an important case of the exit of state - owned asset institutions' investments in Northeast China.

The Industrial Ecosystem Transforming towards Advanced Manufacturing

The story of Coretronic is just a part of Liaoning's venture capital ecosystem. Beyond this part, there is a broader panorama.

Let's go back to SIA. In 1972, Academician Jiang Xinsong, the then director of SIA, drafted a report on "Artificial Intelligence and Robotics" and submitted it to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Later, this report promoted the inclusion of robot research in the "National Science and Technology Development Plan Outline from 1978 to 1985". Under his leadership, SIA developed the teach - and - repeat industrial robot, marking the beginning of China's industrial robot industry.

In 1987, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the State Science and Technology Commission established the "863" Program Intelligent Robot Office at SIA. Since then, SIA has become the cradle of China's industrial robot industry.

This scientific research story began to evolve towards the industrial end in the late 1990s.

In 2000, SIA established Siasun Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. in honor of Academician Jiang Xinsong. It is one of the earliest enterprises in China engaged in the R & D of industrial robots. It was the first to launch products such as the first domestic vacuum clean robot and the first set of automotive assembly mobile robots, quickly breaking the monopoly of foreign enterprises.

In 2009, Siasun Robot was successfully listed on the Growth Enterprise Market, creating the legend of "the first stock on the Growth Enterprise Market in Liaoning". Currently, the company's products are sold to more than 40 countries and regions. Its industrial robots not only serve international giants such as General Motors and Ford but also a large number of Siasun mobile robots are operating in global hubs such as the port of Singapore.

In addition to Coretronic and Siasun Robot, SIA has successively participated in the establishment of more than 10 technology companies.

In 2000, it promoted the establishment of Siasun Medical, a company engaged in the R & D of medical devices such as oxygen generators. In 2003, it founded Zhongke Boway, an industrial Internet of Things company. In 2013, it established Zhongke Aowei, an Internet of Things equipment company. In 2017, it established the Shenyang Institute of Intelligent Robotics. In 2018, it founded Zhongke Xinyu Space Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., a commercial aerospace company... It truly deserves the title of the cradle of technological innovation in Liaoning.

Moreover, as these enterprises continue to grow, they have attracted a large number of companies in the industrial chain to gather in Liaoning.

For example, after Coretronic was listed, four semiconductor equipment companies, including Shenggong Co., Ltd., Tuojing Technology, Fuchuang Precision, and Liancheng CNC, were successively listed, making Liaoning's semiconductor equipment industry take shape. Siasun Robot has attracted a number of supporting enterprises such as Modern Auxiliary Equipment, Sida High - Tech, Guangyang Technology, and Shenyang General Robot to settle in Liaoning, making Liaoning a high - ground for the robot industry.

In the past two years, the semiconductor equipment and robot industries have become the benchmark industries for Liaoning's industrial transformation and upgrading and the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones. The Shenyang Robot and Equipment Manufacturing Cluster has also become the first national - level industrial cluster in Liaoning Province.

It is worth mentioning that there are many scientific research centers like SIA in Liaoning. The Shenyang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has four research institutes in Liaoning, including the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, the Institute of Metal Research, the Shenyang Institute of Applied Ecology, and the Shenyang Institute of Automation, as well as two wholly - converted companies, including Shenyang Computing Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. and Zhongkeyi. In the military and aerospace fields, there are also key R & D institutions such as the 601st Institute, the 606th Institute, and the General Aviation Research Institute in Shenyang. Moreover, Liaoning Province is continuously expanding the construction of scientific research institutions. In 2024, Liaoning established 20 key laboratory clusters around key industries, founded 9 provincial basic science centers focusing on future industries, and implemented 880 research projects.

In addition, Liaoning Province has a strong manufacturing foundation. In particular, it leads the country in fields such as equipment manufacturing, aerospace and military industry, and petrochemical industry. Last year, Liaoning added three national - level advanced manufacturing industrial clusters, namely the "Shenyang Aviation Cluster", the "Shenyang - Dalian Machine Tool Cluster" centered on Shenyang and Dalian, and the "Dalian - Panjin Green Petrochemical Cluster" centered on Dalian and Panjin. They mark that "the eldest son of the Republic" is transforming from traditional manufacturing to advanced manufacturing.

This process will inevitably bring a large number of innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities. The government work report of Liaoning Province in 2025 disclosed a set of data: In 2024, Liaoning added 6,206 technology - based small and medium - sized enterprises, 1,625 high - tech enterprises, and 940 "Eagle Cub" and "Gazelle" enterprises. Rongke Energy Storage and Neusoft Reach New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. were newly recognized as unicorn enterprises.

Therefore, the innovation sources represented by scientific research centers and the ecological environment represented by industrial clusters together provide a growth environment for technological innovation enterprises in Liaoning.

Over 400 Investments: National VCs Flocking to Liaoning

The birth and rise of these enterprises naturally cannot do without the support of capital. Just as Shenyang Science and Technology Venture Capital supported Coretronic, the state - owned asset institutions in Liaoning have provided important "fuel" for the local venture capital ecosystem.

Let's first look at the municipal - level institutions. Shenyang and Dalian are the two most active cities in Liaoning's venture capital. Taking Shenyang as an example, in 2017, Shenyang established the Shenyang Shengjing Financial Holding Investment Group, and equity investment is one of its main business segments. According to the data disclosed on the official website, Shengjing Financial Holding has established three mother funds with a scale of 10 billion yuan each, namely the "Municipal Investment Fund", the "Angel Fund", and the "Market - Oriented Fund". Through these three mother funds and its own funds, it has invested in more than 230 projects in total, with a total investment of more than 22 billion yuan.

Shenyang Science and Technology Venture Capital is a subsidiary of Shengjing Financial Holding. It manages the angel investment mother fund and is an important promoter of early - stage investment in the local area. In the first half of this year, many enterprises such as Huade Haitai Electric, Hengjiu Antai, and Kang