[News] Chinese Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers Draw in New Investment
Since the start of 2026, sustained demand from AI and high-performance computing (HPC) has kept global semiconductor equipment financing highly active. In China, under the push for supply chain self-reliance, localization is accelerating across high-end bonding tools, automated test equipment (ATE), and wide bandgap semiconductor material equipment. Overseas, disruptive lithography technologies are gaining traction.
iSABers Raises ~CNY 500 Million in Strategic Financing Led by AMEC
iSABers has recently completed a strategic financing round of approximately CNY 500 million. The round was co-led by Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC) and Fortera Capital, with participation from BAIC Capital and continued backing from existing investor Inno Angel Fund. Proceeds will be allocated to core technology R&D, iteration of high-end product portfolios, building a world-class R&D and delivery team, and expanding manufacturing capacity to support leapfrog growth and global expansion.
iSABers focuses on semiconductor bonding integration technologies, spanning high-end bonding equipment development and precision bonding foundry services. The company has established a dual-engine, full value chain model combining “equipment manufacturing + process services.” Its in-house product portfolio—including ultra-high-vacuum room-temperature bonding systems, hybrid bonding tools, and thermo-compression bonding equipment—is widely applied in advanced packaging, wafer-level heterogeneous integration, and MEMS sensors.
High-end bonding equipment is a critical enabler for advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, directly impacting the commercialization of Chiplet architectures and 3D stacking technologies. As Moore’s Law approaches its physical limits, enhancing chip performance through advanced packaging has become industry consensus, further elevating the importance of bonding tools. By co-developing equipment and processes, iSABers offers integrated solutions from tools to mass production.
TBSTest Technology Secures Over CNY 1.2 Billion in Pre-IPO Financing
TBSTest Technology Co., Ltd., a specialist in large-scale semiconductor ATE, has completed a Pre-IPO equity financing round totaling over CNY 1.2 billion. Investors include national industrial funds, government-backed funds, banks, and industry capital. The funding will support product development, capacity expansion, and market penetration, advancing technological self-sufficiency in high-end domestic semiconductor test equipment.
Founded in 2017, TBSTest is among the few Chinese companies covering all three major ATE segments: memory, system-on-chip (SoC), and power semiconductors.
Its self-developed product lines—including the T800 series for SoC testing, the TM8000 series for memory testing, and the TP series for power devices—have all reached commercialization. Notably, the TM8000 series, designed for DRAM mass production testing, has achieved large-scale shipments, breaking bottlenecks in high-performance memory ATE.
ATE represents the highest value segment in semiconductor testing and carries significant technical barriers, long dominated by global leaders such as Teradyne and Advantest.
Gayao Semi Raises Nearly CNY 100 Million in Series A
Suzhou Gayao Semi has completed a Series A financing round worth nearly CNY 100 million, led by Suzhou Asset Management and other investors. The funds will primarily support R&D and industrialization of gallium oxide epitaxial wafers and key CVD equipment, accelerating the localization of core materials for wide bandgap and ultra wide bandgap semiconductors.
Founded in 2022, the company focuses on the R&D, production, and sales of gallium oxide epitaxial wafers and related CVD equipment. Centered on metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), it is also advancing multiple thin-film deposition technologies, including atomic layer deposition (ALD) and Mist CVD. Its product portfolio spans gallium oxide and gallium nitride MOCVD systems, ALD equipment, and CVD tools for 2D materials, offering integrated thin-film growth solutions to research institutes and industrial clients.
Compared with silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), gallium oxide holds potential advantages in material cost and substrate scalability. However, epitaxial growth and process equipment remain key bottlenecks to commercialization. By tackling core CVD equipment while advancing epitaxial wafer development, the company has established a dual-engine model of “materials + equipment.”
Lithography Startup Lace Raises $40 Million Series A
Norway-based chip equipment startup Lace has announced a USD 40 million Series A round, led by Atomico, with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm), Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, and Nysnø. The company has developed a prototype system and plans to deploy test tools in a pilot fab by 2029.
Lace departs from conventional lithography by utilizing helium atom beams, achieving a beam width of approximately 0.1 nm, compared with the ~13.5 nm wavelength of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography used by ASML. According to CEO Bodil Holst, the technology could shrink feature sizes by an order of magnitude, enabling “atomic-scale resolution” in wafer patterning and opening new pathways for next-generation AI processor performance gains.
Lithography remains the most technically challenging and concentrated segment in semiconductor manufacturing, with ASML maintaining a long-standing monopoly in the high-end market. Over the next decade, multiple technological pathways may be explored in parallel, with emerging players like Lace poised to play a notable role.
(Photo credit: FREEPIK)
