[News] China’s Lithography Push: AMIES Takes Full Shareholding in SMEE Subsidiary in Asset Restructuring

As China accelerates its semiconductor consolidation, its footprint is extending into lithography machines, one of the most advanced sectors of chipmaking equipment. According to ICRANK, Shanghai Weiyao Industrial Co., Ltd. has recently undergone a shareholder change, with Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) exiting and AMIES stepping in as the sole shareholder with a committed capital of RMB 228.5 million.

The move, as reported by ICRANK, is seen as part of a broader restructuring at SMEE. Core assets are reportedly being reorganized: front-end lithography operations have been transferred to Shanghai Yuliangsheng, while back-end packaging equipment has been spun off into AMIES.

ICRANK notes that SMEE, which began IPO preparations in 2017 but withdrew in October 2024, has split its core assets into multiple units while retaining next-generation R&D, including EUV lithography. The restructuring this time could position AMIES as an independent industrial platform, paving the way for market operations and a potential standalone IPO, the report adds.

Spotlight on Key Domestic Lithography Tools

ICRANK explains that AIMES was spun off from SMEE in February 2025, with the latter shifting its attention to the development of critical front-end tools. As previously reported by STCN, SMEE’s self-developed 600 series lithography system has entered mass production at the 90nm node and is now developing a 28nm immersion model.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Yuliangsheng and AIMES are also making notable progress. The Financial Times reported in September 2025 that SMIC, China’s largest foundry, is testing one of the country’s first domestically developed immersion DUV lithography systems by Shanghai Yuliangsheng, which is linked to Huawei’s SiCarrier. The platform at SMIC reportedly targets 28nm-class manufacturing, though multi-patterning could extend its use to 7nm or even 5nm nodes.

However, Tom’s Hardware points out that the Yuliangsheng immersion DUV system under SMIC’s trial bears a striking resemblance to ASML’s 2008 Twinscan NXT:1950i, which was originally designed for single-exposure 32nm-class process technology.

On the other hand, ICRANK notes that AIMES offers a broad lineup of packaging and inspection tools. By August 2025, the company had delivered over 500 stepper lithography systems, and in November, its first in-house 350nm stepper, the AST6200, successfully passed factory acceptance and was shipped to customers.

According to ijiwei, AIMES’s AST6200 stepper offers a powerful core solution for domestic compound semiconductor production, designed for advanced applications including power devices, RF components, optoelectronics, and Micro LEDs.

Read more

• [News] China’s SMEE Reportedly Wins RMB 110M Lithography Tool Contract Amid Domestic Push
• [News] China Reportedly Builds EUV Prototype Using Older ASML Components, Eyes 2028 Chipmaking
• [News] Decoding China’s Lithography Push to Challenge ASML: From SiCarrier to Alternative EUV Paths

(Photo credit: SMEE)