A new king of Shenzhen's semiconductor industry is born.

This year, the stock price of Cambricon soared, igniting the outside world's expectations for China's semiconductor industry.

"Who will be the next DeepSeek in the chip industry?"

In the exchanges among investors, the name of a semiconductor company from Shenzhen, Xinkailai, was frequently mentioned. This low - key company remained unknown until it made its debut at the SEMICON China 2025 in March this year. At that time, its booth at the exhibition was crowded with people.

At the beginning of September, at the "X - Day" Xili Lake Roadshow Society, the investment community met Ren Le, the person - in - charge of Zhongtou Capital under Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group. The outside world may not know that Xinkailai is a wholly - owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group. In 2021, Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group founded Xinkailai in cooperation with a group of industry partners, and now it is starting to introduce external investors.

When Cambricon's market value exceeded 600 billion yuan, shocked VC/PE firms rushed back into the semiconductor industry to look for projects. Undoubtedly, Xinkailai is one of the most sought - after targets at present.

A New Unicorn in Shenzhen

"How much can China's domestic semiconductor equipment industry contribute to the industry's development? What kind of technological strength can it contribute to promote the progress of the entire industry?"

In March this year, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, Du Lijun, the president of Xinkailai's process equipment product line, delivered a speech titled "Opportunities and Challenges in Semiconductor Process Equipment". At the same time, the company launched more than 30 semiconductor equipment products on - site, causing a stir.

This was also the first time Xinkailai entered the public eye since its establishment four years ago.

According to the official website, Xinkailai's core team has 20 years of experience in technology development of electronic and communication equipment. It has also joined hands with many domestic partners in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and components to provide advanced solutions for domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers, FAB factories, electronic and electrical equipment manufacturers, and research institutions.

The equity penetration chart shows that the company is wholly - owned by Shenzhen Shenxinheng Technology Investment Co., Ltd., which belongs to Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group (referred to as "Shenzhen Major Investment"), a functional platform for strategic leading industrial investment of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government.

In 2021, Xinkailai was founded in Shenzhen. At that time, Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group mentioned in an announcement Xinkailai's mission - to solve the problem of continuity in domestic semiconductor manufacturing, promote the maturity of surrounding industries, and continuously support the survival and development of the industry.

If the semiconductor industry is to enter the era of the industrial revolution, then equipment is like the "steam engine". However, the R & D of semiconductor equipment is not an overnight achievement. The long - term process requires financial support. Since this year, the news that Xinkailai is open for financing has spread in the investment circle and attracted much attention.

Heavy Investment in Semiconductors

This scene is a microcosm of Shenzhen's efforts in the semiconductor industry.

A recent roadshow also gave a similar impression. On the first Thursday in September, a group of semiconductor start - up companies came to Nanshan, Shenzhen. This was the "Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Industry Special Session" held by the "X - Day" Xili Lake Roadshow Society. Six companies focusing on core segments of the semiconductor industry, including Lingming Photonics, Chuangfeixin Technology, Zhongzeng Semiconductor, Weihe Technology, Ruiwo Micro Semiconductor, and Riguan Chip Design, took turns to present their roadshows.

"In the wave of domestic substitution in China's semiconductor industry, we want to make our own chips." A founder talked about the original intention of starting a business. The investment community learned from the scene that the companies presenting roadshows covered key tracks in multiple semiconductor fields such as chip design, EDA tools, advanced packaging, third - generation semiconductors, and storage IP. Many of their technologies are at the leading level in China, and most of them have achieved commercialization and received financing from many leading institutions.

Below the stage, more than a hundred investment institutions, including Ginkgo Valley Capital, Joyuan Asia, Zhongtou Capital, Tongchuang Weiye, SMIC Capital, Vertex Ventures, Shenzhen Capital Group, and Hechuang Capital, gathered. In addition, representatives of banks, insurance institutions, enterprises in the semiconductor and integrated circuit industry chain, as well as experts and students from universities and research institutions filled the venue.

Witnessing the current trend of semiconductor mergers and acquisitions, the sub - venue of the "M&A Action Camp" in Nanshan District was also held simultaneously after the roadshow, providing a closed - door docking platform for 8 listed companies in the semiconductor and integrated circuit fields in Nanshan District and 10 industrial financing and M&A projects from across the country.

Beyond the roadshow site, a group of semiconductor companies from Shenzhen are rising.

Not long ago, Lingming Photonics, which had just finished its roadshow, announced the completion of its Series C3 financing, accumulating nearly 100 million yuan in investment from the state - owned asset platform in Zhejiang Province. As early as 2018, a group of returnee doctors founded Lingming Photonics in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, targeting the fields of 3D camera chips and high - speed optical communication. Behind it are well - known investment institutions such as Banyan Capital, CPE Yuanfeng, Lightspeed China Partners, Cornerstone Capital, ZhenFund, and Legend Holdings.

Almost at the same time, Maite Chip, also from Nanshan, Shenzhen, announced the completion of its Pre - A round of financing, led by Gao Jie Capital, with follow - on investments from Yida Capital, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, and Ruijiang Investment. In addition, in September, Ruimeng Semiconductor, founded by an associate professor at Shenzhen University, and Nanfei Microelectronics, which focuses on the R & D of high - speed and high - bandwidth communication network chips, also completed their financing one after another.

Even earlier, semiconductor companies in Shenzhen, such as Xinsheng Semiconductor, Lemon Photonics, Zhixin Micro, Xinshijia, Chuangsheng Semiconductor, Huaxun Semiconductor, and Ouye Semiconductor, all announced their financing, forming an impressive lineup.

On the other hand, semiconductor IPOs in Shenzhen are coming in groups. In August this year, Feixiang Technology from Nanshan, Shenzhen, submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This unicorn founded in 2015 is led by Long Hua, a top student from Tsinghua University, and backed by a group of leading institutions such as Shenzhen High - tech Investment Group, CICC Capital, Yuanhe Houwang, and SMIC Capital. Another star project, Jiben Semiconductor, is also heading for an IPO in Hong Kong under the leadership of Dr. Wang Zhihan from the University of Cambridge; "The leading domestic storage company" Jiangbo Long is seeking a dual - listing on the A - share and Hong Kong stock markets.

There are also Xidian Semiconductor, Shangding Chip, Chuangzhi Xinlian... Looking around, Shenzhen is well - represented in this year's semiconductor IPOs.

The Industrial Battle of a City

Looking back, Shenzhen's semiconductor industry did not start early. In 1988, SEG Group and IBDT Asia Limited of the United States jointly established Shenzhen Semiconductor, marking the official establishment of Shenzhen's first chip manufacturer. At that time, Shanghai and Beijing had already formed the "north - south pattern" of China's IC industry.

It must be admitted that in the early days, Shenzhen was restricted by factors such as industrial layout, R & D resources, and market structure, and its semiconductor industry foundation was relatively weak. Therefore, when facing the question of "Why is the semiconductor industry in the Pearl River Delta lagging behind that in the Yangtze River Delta?", Shenzhen's sense of crisis was obvious.

However, this city has made unprecedented efforts to catch up.

Remember in 2022, Shenzhen was the first to include the semiconductor and integrated circuit industry in its "20+8" industrial plan and issued a key policy - the "Action Plan for Cultivating and Developing the Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Industry Cluster in Shenzhen", proposing nine key projects and setting a goal: To achieve an industrial revenue of over 250 billion yuan by 2025.

Since then, Shenzhen has built a full - industrial - chain system covering "upstream supporting industries - mid - stream production - downstream application scenarios". Different districts in Shenzhen, such as Nanshan, Bao'an, Longgang, Longhua, Pingshan, and Futian, each have their own advantages. Take Nanshan as an example. As the core area of technological innovation in Shenzhen, it is home to a group of companies such as Jiangbo Long, Baiwei Storage, Fengtiao Technology, Yunyinggu, and Feixiang Technology, focusing on integrated circuit design, high - end equipment, key materials, and advanced packaging and testing, and laying out key industrial clusters in network and communication, intelligent sensors, etc.

In the era of AI, an opportunity to overtake has emerged. Many investors analyzed to the investment community: The development of the AI hardware industry will surely gather a group of consumer electronics enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. Driven by demand, the surrounding semiconductor industries will also converge.

"All the world's consumer electronics are in the Greater Bay Area. Shenzhen's advantage lies in the fact that it can transform sand into final consumer products and sell them globally, forming a closed - loop ecosystem." A founder sighed, "Only Shenzhen has such an ecological system." It can be seen that Shenzhen is striving to seize this opportunity and has put forward the strategic goal of building a global origin for "AI + chips + scenarios".

The journey is long. Recall that in 2001, the number of semiconductor industry chain enterprises registered in Shenzhen exceeded 100 for the first time. By 2025, the number of semiconductor - related registered enterprises in Shenzhen has exceeded 77,000, the scale of the integrated circuit industry has exceeded 140 billion yuan, with 50 listed companies, 14 unicorns, and more than 200 specialized and sophisticated "little giants" enterprises.

And each rising enterprise is a footnote to this magnificent history.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Investment Community” (ID: pedaily2012), author: Yang Wenjing, published by 36Kr with authorization.