Qingheng Micro is on the verge of its IPO, fighting for the survival of domestic chips.

Recently, the issuance and listing review dynamics updated on the website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed that the review status of the Science and Technology Innovation Board IPO of Nanjing Qinheng Microelectronics Co., Ltd. has changed to "Inquiry Received". Looking back to June 30th, the company's IPO application was just accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with Huatai United Securities Co., Ltd. serving as the sponsor institution.

Qinheng Micro is an integrated circuit design company based in Nanjing. Since its establishment in 2004, it has taken a different path from the industry's conventional model. Different from most enterprises that purchase IP from third - parties and then integrate and assemble chips, it focuses on the research of underlying key technologies and gradually builds an independent IP system. Its core products cover interface chips and interconnecting MCU chips. As of the end of 2024, the company has accumulated 95 invention patents and 76 exclusive rights to integrated circuit layout designs. It has also been recognized as a national specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprise.

However, between the lines of this prospectus, there are still many issues worthy of in - depth discussion: Why does this enterprise adhering to "self - developed core IP" spend twenty years delving into underlying technologies when the industry generally pursues "rapid integration and shipment"? Can the 932 million yuan it plans to raise really break through key technologies such as USB4 and high - performance RISC - V kernels and narrow the gap with international leading manufacturers? And what impact will the highly concentrated structure in which the actual controller, Wang Chunhua, controls 94.57% of the equity in total have on the company's future governance and development?

From a secondary vocational school teacher to a chip industry leader

In the context of the chip industry where high - level academic qualifications are concentrated, the resume of Wang Chunhua, the actual controller of Qinheng Micro, is particularly special. He is not from a well - known university majoring in relevant fields. In the early years, he worked as a teacher at Jiangsu Urban and Rural Construction Vocational College, and then moved between Changzhou Huachao Computer Technology Development Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Huasu Information Co., Ltd., accumulating early - stage technical experience in the CTO position. This seemingly "cross - border" experience with chip design unexpectedly became his unique advantage in starting a business later: rather than chasing short - term market hotspots, he pays more attention to the "rooting" of underlying technologies.

In May 2004, when Wang Chunhua founded Qinheng Micro, the mainstream model in the industry was to purchase IP cores from third - parties such as Arm and Synopsys and quickly integrate and assemble MCU/SoC chips. However, he chose a more difficult path: giving up the "copy - and - paste approach" and developing core IP from scratch.

This decision was not a whim. At that time, domestic chip design enterprises generally faced the problem of being "held back by IP". Purchasing IP externally not only required paying high licensing fees and royalties but also might make it impossible to optimize product performance due to the technical black - box. Wang Chunhua's "reverse choice" planted the "independent gene" in Qinheng Micro from its birth and also laid the groundwork for the later research and development of the "Qingke" kernel.

Wang Chunhua's decisions have always had a profound impact on the development trajectory of Qinheng Micro, and the degree of equity concentration is also an important dimension to observe the potential risks of corporate governance. The prospectus shows that through directly holding 28.46% of the shares, controlling 56.04% of the shares of the controlling shareholder Jiangsu Qinheng, and holding a 10.06% stake in the shareholding platform XOR Partnership, Wang Chunhua controls 94.57% of the company's equity in total. This highly concentrated control structure not only reflects his core control over the company after years of entrepreneurial efforts but also hides potential problems related to corporate governance.

In this regard, the prospectus clearly warns that if the actual controller uses his control power to interfere inappropriately with the company's personnel appointment and removal, business decision - making, etc., it may cause the company's corporate governance structure to fail to function effectively, thereby harming the company's operations and the interests of other shareholders.

"Breaking through the IP barrier" and market competition

The development process of Qinheng Micro is a patient history of "trading time for technology". In the early days of its establishment in 2004, the company started with low - speed USB1.1 chips and spent many years overcoming high - speed USB2.0 and Type - C/PD technologies; later, it gradually extended its R & D reach to Bluetooth, Ethernet, and microprocessor kernels, eventually forming an independent IP system of "one kernel and three interfaces" (Qingke kernel + USB/Bluetooth/Ethernet).

Behind this perseverance is huge and continuous R & D investment. From 2022 to 2024, the company's R & D expenses were 60.8553 million yuan, 67.7097 million yuan, and 76.1713 million yuan respectively. Although the R & D expense ratio decreased from 25.54% to 19.20%, it remained at a relatively high level.

The high investment has brought two key achievements: first, the cumulative shipment of the "Qingke" RISC - V kernel has exceeded 100 million units. Compared with the Arm Cortex - M series, it has achieved partial superiority in interrupt response speed and power consumption control; second, it has built a full - chain technical capability covering the physical layer (PHY), controller, and protocol stack. As of the end of 2024, it has accumulated 95 invention patents and 76 exclusive rights to integrated circuit layout designs.

However, the cruelty of market competition is also obvious. In the field of USB bridge chips, the global market is still dominated by FTDI in the UK and Silicon Labs in the US. Although Qinheng Micro ranks ninth globally as a "domestic alternative" with a market share of about 13% in China, its USB chip revenue of 207 million yuan in 2024 still cannot compare with that of leading enterprises; in the field of Bluetooth chips, facing competition from Telink and STMicroelectronics, its Bluetooth product revenue of 62.0731 million yuan in 2024 also cannot compete with Telink's relevant revenue in the same period.

What's more serious is that the company's gross profit margin of main business has decreased from 63.32% in 2022 to 57.51% in 2024, while the inventory scale has increased from 95.8059 million yuan to 140 million yuan. The prospectus admits that if product iteration lags or demand shrinks, it will face the dual pressure of further decline in gross profit margin and inventory impairment.

Behind the 900 - million - yuan fundraising

In this Science and Technology Innovation Board IPO, Qinheng Micro plans to invest all the 932 million yuan of raised funds in three R & D and industrialization projects: USB chips, network chips (Bluetooth/Ethernet), and full - stack MCU chips. The prospectus depicts an attractive blueprint: through the implementation of the projects, the company will break through USB4 technology, develop high - performance Qingke RISC - V kernels, and further narrow the gap with international manufacturers. However, there are multiple uncertain risks hidden under this blueprint.

At the technical level, the prospectus repeatedly emphasizes the "iteration risk". If the company's R & D progress lags, its existing products may be quickly eliminated by the market; at the market level, as the number of domestic chip design enterprises has increased sharply, the industry price war has intensified. From 2022 to 2024, the average unit price of the company's chips has decreased from 1.79 yuan per piece to 1.36 yuan per piece. If it fails to break through in the high - end market, it may fall into a vicious cycle of "trading price for volume". At the equity level, the concentration of 94.57% of the control power, although it can improve decision - making efficiency, may also lead to a "one - man - show" and affect the standardization of corporate governance.

However, Qinheng Micro's exploration still provides a possibility for the domestic chip industry. The prospectus shows that its net profit after deducting non - recurring gains and losses in 2024 was close to 100 million yuan, achieving a closed - loop of "self - developed technology + continuous profit" in the non - policy market. This model of "not relying on policy subsidies and not relying on overseas ecosystems" may be a key step for domestic chips to move from "assembly independence" to "core independence".

Opening Qinheng Micro's prospectus, it is more like a "survival record" of a domestic chip enterprise than an IPO application document. Whether this IPO will be successful and whether the 932 million yuan of raised funds can help it break through technical bottlenecks may still need to be verified by time. But it is certain that in the wave of domestic chip breakthroughs, Qinheng Micro's "self - developed IP" path has provided a worthy reference sample for the industry.

(This article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution.)

This article is from the WeChat official account "Lead FUSE", written by Lü Zihe and published by 36Kr with authorization.