Recently, two industrial moves took place in Shanghai’s integrated circuit (IC) sector.

First, the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (Phase II) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase II”) received a substantial capital increase.

Second, 14 key IC-related projects were signed and officially launched in Shanghai’s Lingang area on August 19, involving companies such as SICC, JHETECH, SIMIC, and Shanghai Institute of IC Materials (SICM) with a total investment of CNY 28.8 billion.

• The Capital of Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase II Increased to CNY 14.5 Billion

Recently, the business registration information of Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase II was updated, showing a significant increase in registered capital from CNY 7.6 billion to CNY 14.53 billion. Moreover, Shanghai Pudong Innovation Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd. was added as a new shareholder, and some key personnel changes were made.

The Shanghai IC Industry Fund was founded in 2020. In June 2024, Shanghai AST announced the successful completion of its Series C financing round, with Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase II among the investors, which has also invested in companies such as Hailin Microelectronics, SMIC, JCET, and GTX.

It is worth noting that this is the second capital increase for Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase II. It’s learned that the fund’s initial registered capital was CNY 5.4 billion, which increased to CNY 7.6 billion in January 2022.

• Several IC Industry Funds Established

In 2016, Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase I”) was established with an initial fundraising scale of CNY 28.5 billion, making it the largest local IC industry fund in China at that time, with a focus on investing in IC manufacturing sector.

The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund ( “Big Fund”) was among the investors, currently holding a subscribed capital of CNY 3 billion and a 17.01% stake.

Up till now, Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase I has invested in 14 companies, including HLMC Microelectronic, Hailin Microelectronics, Everdisplay, SMIC, GTA, HLMC IC, SouthChip, Zhaoxin, Unisoc, InnoGrit, and ACM, covering areas such as design, manufacturing, and equipment.

In July 2024, following the establishment of Shanghai IC Industry Fund Phase I and Phase II, Shanghai took further action by setting three new leading industry mother funds. It is reported that the funds invested a total of CNY 89.003 billion, respectively targeting three major industries: IC, biomedicine, and AI.

Among these, the IC mother fund has a capital of CNY 45.001 billion, focusing on areas including but not limited to IC design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, equipment materials, and components.

The AI mother fund, with a scale of CNY 22.501 billion, eyes fields such as intelligent chips, intelligent software, autonomous driving, and intelligent robots.

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(Photo credit: JCET)