[News] Moutai, Guoxin Micro, Empyrean Set up New Firms Related to IC Manufacturing

Recently, a number of well-known companies like Moutai, Guoxin Micro and Empyrean set up new entities whose business scopes involve integrated circuit (IC) domain.

Moutai Again Engages in IC Arena by Establishing a New Company

On January 1, 2026, Guizhou Ai Moutai Digital Technology Co., Ltd. was officially registered in Guiyang. The company is wholly owned by Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of CNY 600 million.

Notably, Guizhou Ai Moutai’s business scope includes the sales of integrated circuit chips and related products, drawing market attention and signaling that Kweichow Moutai may be actively expanding its footprint in this field.

This is not Moutai’s first foray into the semiconductor sector. As early as 2024, the company had already ventured into chip design through investments made by its Moutai Sci-Tech Fund and Moutai Jinshi Fund, taking stakes in domestic chipmakers such as Shanghai Smartlogic and ZJeagles Comsemi.

Founded in 2016 with a registered capital of CNY 360 million, Smartlogic is a high-tech semiconductor unicorn focused on the R&D of domestically developed processor cores, chip design, and applications. The company specializes in high-performance computing chips and holds full independent intellectual property rights to its MaPU (Massively Parallel Processing Unit) microprocessor architecture. Presently, it has officially launched A-share IPO counseling and completed listing filing procedures with the Shanghai office of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

ZJeagles Comsemi, founded in 2018 with a registered capital of CNY 55.2165 million, is a well-known IDM specializing in optical interconnect VCSEL chips. The company provides high-speed transmission and intelligent sensing solutions for AI computing centers, automotive radar, and advanced intelligent robotics. Recently, ZJeagles Comsemi completed a B+ round financing exceeding CNY 700 million, with proceeds earmarked for next-generation high-density optical interconnect R&D, capacity expansion, and product portfolio enhancement, aiming to deliver foundational optical interconnect solutions for domestic computing power.

Guoxin Micro Set up Tongxin Micro Tech, Targeting Automotive Domain Controller Chips

On December 25, 2025, Guoxin Micro. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Tongxin Micro plans to jointly invest with five related parties and one unrelated party to establish Tongxin Micro Tech in order to operate its automotive domain controller chip business independently.

Tongxin Micro Tech was officially incorporated on December 26, 2025, with a registered capital of CNY 300 million. Its core mission is the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of automotive domain controller chips. Upon completion of the transaction, Tongxin Micro Tech will be consolidated into Tongxin Micro’s financial statements.

Empyrean Establishes Chongqing Subsidiary to Deepen EDA–Domestic Computing Synergy

On December 24, 2025, Chongqing Empyrean was established with a registered capital of CNY 90 million, which is wholly owned by Empyrean, a leading domestic EDA vendor in China, and engages in business including integrated circuit design and electronic product sales, etc.

Empyrean focuses on the development, sales, and services of EDA software tools for IC design, manufacturing, and packaging. The company has achieved major breakthroughs across multiple areas, including digital IC design EDA systems, memory chip design EDA systems, advanced packaging EDA systems, and 3D IC design platforms.

Earlier, on December 18, 2025, Empyrean signed a cooperation agreement with Hygon, a domestic high-end processor chip designer. According to Empyrean, the two parties will jointly explore collaborative applications between EDA technologies and domestic computing platforms.

iFLYTEK Sets Up New Subsidiary in Shandong to Expand AI IC Business

On December 19, 2025, AI and intelligent speech technology provider iFLYTEK announced the establishment of Shandong Yixun Information Technology Co., Ltd., further expanding its presence in the technology sector. The new company has a registered capital of CNY 50 million, with its business scope covering integrated circuit design.

iFLYTEK is a leading listed company in intelligent speech and artificial intelligence, with core competencies spanning speech recognition, computer vision, natural language processing, and cognitive intelligence. The company has long maintained a strategic presence in the IC field.

As early as 2019, iFLYTEK launched the CSK400X series of AI voice chips for the home appliance industry, developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners, delivering computing performance of up to 128 GOPS. Since then, iFLYTEK has established multiple subsidiaries, many of which are involved in IC market.

(Photo credit: Empyrean)