Aero-engine team tackles semiconductor vacuum equipment. Multiple product performances are comparable to international benchmarks. It has completed tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing | Exclusive report from Yingke

Author | Lin Qingqing

Editor | Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that CoreNavi Microelectronics (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CoreNavi Micro") recently completed an angel - round financing of tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was jointly participated by Yushan Capital and Shanghai Daohe Investment. Previously, the company received seed - round investment from Xifeng Changqing. It is reported that this round of financing will be mainly used for the expansion of the turbomolecular pump production line, the continuous R & D of semi - magnetic levitation and full - magnetic levitation series products, as well as market promotion and team expansion.

Founded in 2023, CoreNavi Micro is a high - tech enterprise focusing on the design, R & D, and production of vacuum components in industrial fields such as semiconductors, high - end scientific instruments, and photovoltaics. The company's core team comes from Aero Engine Corporation of China Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd. Relying on the aero - engine design system and technical accumulation, it is committed to realizing the domestic substitution of turbomolecular pumps. Currently, it has established a technical matrix covering multiple semi - magnetic levitation products such as MAX80, MAX300, and MAX700, as well as full - magnetic levitation products under research.

Currently, in the field of high - vacuum and ultra - high - vacuum, turbomolecular pumps, as key components, are widely used in scenarios such as semiconductor manufacturing, scientific instruments, and photovoltaic equipment. The global market has long been monopolized by international manufacturers such as Pfeiffer Vacuum from Germany and Edwards. More than 95% of the domestic market share depends on imports. The industry has long suffered from pain points such as high product prices, long delivery cycles, and long after - sales maintenance cycles. The products of domestic manufacturers still have significant gaps with overseas benchmarks in key indicators such as ultimate vacuum, vibration control, reliability, and service life, and are difficult to meet the needs of high - end equipment.

Aiming at this market gap, CoreNavi Micro applies the design methods, material systems, and manufacturing processes of aero - engines to the R & D of turbomolecular pumps. The company's products are comparable to international mainstream models in core performance such as pumping speed, compression ratio, and ultimate vacuum, and have been improved in comprehensive performance such as start - up time, shutdown time, and speed adjustment range. Taking the mass - produced MAX300 semi - magnetic levitation turbomolecular pump as an example, its start - up time is 15% faster than that of foreign similar products, the shutdown time is shortened by 68%, the speed adjustment range is wider, and it supports a lower re - connection speed after power failure. These improvements help semiconductor customers, scientific instrument customers, etc. improve equipment utilization and the efficiency of R & D and production iteration.

In terms of market expansion, CoreNavi Micro's products have entered well - known domestic third - generation semiconductor silicon carbide epitaxial equipment enterprises and high - end mass spectrometer manufacturers, and more than 20 products have been delivered in batches. By sharing the aero - engine manufacturing platform and supply - chain resources, the company controls costs while ensuring product consistency and reliability. Its product pricing is lower than that of imported products, and the supply time is significantly shorter than the delivery time of foreign manufacturers.

To further build capacity and R & D barriers, CoreNavi Micro has established a 2,000 - square - meter R & D and production base in Songjiang District, Shanghai, including a Class 10,000 clean - room assembly line, a performance testing laboratory, and two assembly branches for MAX80 and MAX300. The current annual production capacity exceeds 1,200 units. The company passed the ISO9001 international quality system certification in 2024 and has completed the application and layout of multiple utility models and invention patents.

The team composition is another core advantage of CoreNavi Micro. Liu Yesheng, the company's CEO, has worked in Aero Engine Corporation of China Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd. and 3M China Limited, etc., both being Fortune Global 500 companies, and has rich experience in the R & D of aero - engine core components and the commercialization of industrial products. CTO Liao Kai and technical backbones such as Wu Qing, Yue Teng, and Zhang Bin all have years of experience in the design of aero - engine aerodynamics, structures, strength, and lubrication systems. The company's chief technical advisor is a national expert who has participated in the R & D of multiple international advanced aero - engine models. The marketing and sales team has senior consultants from semiconductor equipment giants such as Applied Materials, ASML, and ULVAC, with profound industry resources and customer - introduction capabilities.

Views of investors:

Xifeng Changqing said that the molecular pump is a key core component of semiconductor equipment and high - end scientific research instruments. It has a wide range of application scenarios and has a decisive impact on system performance and stability. Its technical and industrial barriers are extremely high. The CoreNavi Micro team comes from the top domestic aero - engine R & D system and has profound engineering accumulation and systematic capabilities in the direction of domestic substitution of turbomolecular pumps. It has not only realized the substitution of imported products but also achieved innovation and breakthroughs in key performance indicators. Currently, CoreNavi Micro's products have successfully passed key test verifications and achieved batch shipments in fields such as semiconductor equipment and mass spectrometers, demonstrating excellent technical maturity and industrialization capabilities. We look forward to the company further enriching its product matrix in the future, continuously providing customers with high - performance and reliable vacuum solutions, and accelerating its growth into a leading domestic and globally competitive vacuum system supplier. Both Yushan Capital and Shanghai Daohe pointed out that as the core component of the vacuum system, the turbomolecular pump is widely used in the fields of semiconductor equipment and high - end scientific research instruments. The domestic market has long been monopolized by international manufacturers such as Pfeiffer and Edwards, with pain points such as high prices, long delivery times, difficult maintenance, and the risk of supply interruption. The demand for domestic substitution is urgent. The turbomolecular pump has a high technical barrier, and its principle and mechanical structure are similar to those of aero - engines. Relying on their profound accumulation in aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, and high - speed rotating machinery in the aero - engine field, with an average work experience of more than 10 years, the CoreNavi Micro team entered the market with fully independent technology, high - precision manufacturing, and a strict quality control system. The product performance is not inferior to that of overseas giants, and it has achieved batch shipments in the semiconductor and scientific research instrument fields. With the construction of the Class 10,000 production line and the advancement of new product R & D, CoreNavi Micro is expected to grow into a benchmark enterprise, filling the gap of domestic high - end molecular pumps, helping China's vacuum equipment industry to make a leap, and strengthening the self - controllable foundation of the high - end manufacturing supply chain.