[News] Yuanjie’s Share Price Surpasses Kweichow Moutai’s, Hinting at a Boom in Optical Chip Demand
On April 17, shares of Yuanjie Semiconductor continued to rally, briefly surpassing CNY 1,410 during intraday trading and overtaking Kweichow Moutai to become the highest-priced stock in China’s A-share market. By midday close, Yuanjie retreated slightly to CNY 1,403.08, still marginally above Moutai’s CNY 1,402.02.
Yuanjie is one of China’s leading optical chip suppliers, with business spanning traditional telecom markets as well as emerging applications such as data centers and automotive LiDAR.
In 2025, the company reported revenue of CNY 601 million, up 138.50% YoY, while net profit attributable to shareholders reached CNY 191 million, turning losses into gains. Notably, revenue from the data center segment accounted for more than 50% of total sales, with a gross margin of 72.21%, making it the primary growth driver.
Industry observers note that rapid advancements in AI, data centers, and 5G/6G communications are driving a sharp increase in demand for high-speed optical communications. As core components of optical communication systems, optical chips play a critical role in data transmission. Yuanjie, as one of the few domestic companies capable of mass-producing high-speed optical chips, is well positioned to benefit from this trend.
At present, global optical chip capacity remains highly constrained, with a significant supply-demand gap, particularly in high-speed segments. On April 10, the CEO of Lumentum stated that the company could sell out its capacity through 2028 within the next two quarters.
Amid persistent supply shortages, manufacturers move vigorously in capacity expansion. Lumentum is upgrading and expanding existing electronics manufacturing facilities to shorten lead times for new capacity, while also exploring acquisitions and greenfield projects. Meanwhile, Coherent plans to double its capacity over the next two years, focusing on silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO) to meet demand from AI data centers.
In China, Yuanjie has announced plans to invest approx. CNY 1.251 billion in the second phase of its optoelectronic communication semiconductor chip and device R&D and manufacturing base. In addition, the company intends to allocate CNY 98.62 million in excess raised funds to expand its “50G optical chip industrialization project.”
Meanwhile, a subsidiary of Yunnan Germanium plans to invest CNY 189 million to expand its indium phosphide (InP) substrate production line, adding annual capacity of 450,000 4-inch-equivalent wafers, aiming to reduce reliance on imported high-end InP materials and support growing demand for high-speed optical modules.
Overall, tight supply conditions in the optical chip market are unlikely to ease in the near term. The pace of capacity expansion and ramp-up among key players will be critical in shaping the competitive landscape going forward.
(Photo credit: FREEPIK)
