Among the top ten most profitable domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers, how many do you know?

On August 12th, research institution CINNO Research released a thought-provoking set of data: In the first half of 2025, the total investment in China's semiconductor industry was 455 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 9.8%. However, there is a niche segment that bucked the trend and soared by 53.4% - semiconductor equipment, which has become the only segment with positive growth in the industrial chain. This is not a coincidence but a true reflection of the ongoing restructuring of the global technology competition landscape.

If manufacturing chips is like "sculpting the tiniest sculptures in the universe," then semiconductor equipment companies are the armories and tool masters providing the "scalpels," "microscopes," and "dust-free workbenches" behind the scenes. No matter how sophisticated the design is, without top-notch equipment such as lithography machines and etching machines, nothing can be achieved. As the saying goes, those who control the equipment control the chips, and those who control the chips control the world. Investing in semiconductor equipment is not just about investing in a single company but about investing in the "infrastructure" and "capability foundation" for China's technological independence.

This consensus is also reflected in the stock market: The semiconductor equipment sector has shown strong performance recently, and many investors are voting with real money for the future of China's semiconductor equipment. Today, Xinchao IC will take you through some core equipment companies and their latest developments to see who is truly leading the charge in domestic substitution.

Front-end Core Equipment

The "Foundation Players" in Chip Manufacturing

01

Northern Microelectronics

Northern Microelectronics was founded in 2001 with the stock code 002371. It is currently an advanced enterprise in high-end process equipment for integrated circuits in China. It mainly engages in semiconductor equipment, vacuum and lithium battery equipment, and precision component businesses, providing solutions for the semiconductor, new energy, and new materials fields. The company currently has six R & D and production bases, and its marketing and service system covers major countries and regions in the world such as Europe, America, and Asia.

AMEC

AMEC was founded in 2004 with the stock code 688012. It is a high-end microfabrication equipment company based in China and oriented towards the global market, providing highly competitive high-end equipment and high-quality services for the integrated circuit and general semiconductor industries. The plasma etching equipment and chemical thin-film equipment developed by AMEC are key equipment for manufacturing various microdevices and can process devices at the micron and nanometer levels.

Topco Scientific

Topco Scientific was founded in 2010 with the stock code 688072. It is mainly engaged in the R & D, production, sales, and technical services of semiconductor-specific equipment. The company's main products include plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) equipment, atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, sub-atmospheric chemical vapor deposition (SACVD) equipment, high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDPCVD) equipment, ultra-high aspect ratio trench filling (Flowable CVD) equipment, advanced bonding (W2W / D2W Hybrid Bonding) equipment, and related measurement equipment.

Huahai Qingke

Huahai Qingke was founded in 2013 with the stock code 688120. It is a high-end semiconductor equipment manufacturer with core independent intellectual property rights. The company's main products include CMP equipment, thinning equipment, dicing equipment, wet equipment, ion implantation equipment, edge polishing equipment, wafer regeneration, key consumables, and maintenance services, creating a platform-based strategic layout of "equipment + services." The company's main products and services have been widely used in manufacturing processes such as integrated circuits, advanced packaging, large silicon wafers, third-generation semiconductors, MEMS, and Micr LED.

Auxiliary Equipment

The "Detail-Oriented Players" in Chip Manufacturing

02

ACM Research

ACM Research was founded in 2005 with the stock code 688082. Its main products include single-wafer and tank-type wet cleaning equipment, electroplating equipment, stress-free polishing equipment, vertical furnace tube equipment, front-end coating and developing equipment, and PECVD equipment. Through self-developed technologies such as single-wafer megasonic cleaning technology, single-wafer tank-type combined cleaning technology, electroplating technology, stress-free polishing technology, and vertical furnace tube technology, ACM Research provides customized equipment and process solutions to global wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging, and other customers.

Zhicun Technology

Zhicun Technology was founded in 2000 with the stock code 6036902. Its professional enterprises in the electronics field are committed to providing process equipment, high-purity process systems, related electronic materials, and professional services to customers in the integrated circuit and general semiconductor industries; its enterprises in the biological field are committed to providing core equipment such as bioreactors, fermentation systems, and liquid preparation systems for industries such as biopharmaceuticals and synthetic biology. The company's business strategy is to "focus on core processes and serve key manufacturing processes" and "aim to become a leading domestic provider of process equipment and materials" and participate in international competition on behalf of domestic brands.

Chip Source Microelectronics

Chip Source Microelectronics was founded in 2002 with the stock code 6880373. The company is committed to researching, manufacturing world-class integrated circuit production equipment, and providing related services, offering professional and sophisticated equipment and innovative process solutions to customers. The company's self-developed products such as photoresist coaters, photoresist developers, wafer cleaners, wet etchers, and photoresist strippers are widely used in fields such as front-end chip manufacturing, back-end advanced packaging, microelectromechanical systems, and LED lighting.

Wanye Enterprises

Wanye Enterprises was founded in 1991 with the stock code 6006414. Through the dual-driven strategy of "external mergers and acquisitions + industrial integration," Wanye Enterprises is actively deploying in segments such as semiconductor equipment components, focusing on self-developed core equipment and committed to developing a full range of ion implanter products. Its subsidiary, CASINTEK, is a leading domestic high-end integrated circuit ion implanter equipment enterprise, leading the domestic market in 12-inch low-energy high-current ion implanters and continuously leading the industrialization process of domestic low-energy high-current and high-energy ion implanter product series.

Back-end & Testing Equipment

The "Examiners" for Chip Shipment

03

Changchuan Technology

Changchuan Technology was founded in 2008 with the stock code 3006045. The company is committed to the R & D, production, and sales of integrated circuit-specific equipment. The company's main products include high-power testers, analog testers, digital testers, gravity sorters, translational sorters, test and programming integrated machines, fingerprint modules, camera modules, wafer optical appearance inspection equipment, and circuit packaging optical appearance inspection equipment.

Huafeng Measurement & Control

Huafeng Measurement & Control was founded in 1993 with the stock code 6882006. As one of the earliest enterprises to enter the semiconductor testing equipment industry in China, Huafeng Measurement & Control has always focused on the field of analog and mixed-signal testing equipment. With the characteristics of high performance, easy operation, and service advantages of its products, Huafeng Measurement & Control has repeatedly broken the monopoly of foreign manufacturers in the field of analog and mixed-signal testing equipment, and its products are exported to developed semiconductor regions outside China such as Taiwan, China, the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. It has now become the main testing platform supplier in the analog testing field for the top three domestic semiconductor packaging and testing manufacturers.

CAS Ecotech

CAS Ecotech was founded in 2014 with the stock code 6883617. Relying on years of in-depth accumulation and independent innovation in fields such as optical inspection technology, big data inspection algorithms, and automated control software, the company is able to provide key quality control equipment to enterprises in the front-end process of integrated circuits, advanced packaging, and related equipment and material manufacturers, helping to improve process technology, increase the yield rate, and achieve the goal of cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

Precision Test Electronics

Precision Test Electronics was founded in 2006 with the stock code 3005678. Through a fully self-developed core technology platform integrating "optics, mechanics, electronics, computing, and software," the company has built an intelligent inspection ecosystem from precision inspection instruments to intelligent inspection equipment to industry solutions. Beyond inspection, it realizes proactive yield management. Currently, Precision Test Electronics is headquartered in Wuhan and is gradually establishing a global layout with four R & D centers in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and China (Taiwan/Wuhan/Shanghai/Beijing) and seven intelligent manufacturing bases in Wuhan, Suzhou, Shanghai, Changzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Jiangmen.

Specialty Segments

The "Hidden Champions" Taking a Different Path

04

Chip Grand Technology

Chip Grand Technology was founded in 2015 with the stock code 6886309. The company is specialized in the R & D and production of direct imaging equipment and direct writing lithography equipment with micro-nano direct writing lithography as the core technology. The company has built an intelligent R & D and manufacturing base covering over 70,000 square meters integrating R & D, production, and office functions. It took the lead in drafting and releasing the national standard for PCB direct imaging equipment and adheres to strategic innovation, technological innovation, institutional innovation, and talent innovation to create more social and commercial value through innovation and technology.

Xinyichang

Xinyichang was founded in 2006 with the stock code 688383. The company is mainly engaged in the R & D, production, and sales of intelligent manufacturing equipment for industries such as LED, semiconductors, capacitors, and lithium batteries, providing advanced and stable equipment and solutions for customers to achieve intelligent manufacturing. In addition, the company has achieved self-research and self-production of core components for some of its intelligent manufacturing equipment products, such as drivers, high-precision reading heads, linear motors, and voice coil motors. It is one of the few domestic intelligent manufacturing equipment enterprises with the ability to independently research and produce core components.

These enterprises together form the "heroic map" of China's semiconductor equipment. They are not only breaking through technological blockades but also laying a solid foundation for our future digital life - an era free from disruptions due to chip shortages, an era where the next generation of innovators can pursue their product dreams with peace of mind.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Xinchao IC." Author: Yixiu. Republished by 36Kr with permission.