Huawei made a move and tore open this secret track.

the investment community has learned that Weiyuan Photonics (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes recently, adding Shenzhen Hubble Technology Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), an affiliated company of Huawei, as a shareholder. Previously, Xiaomi affiliated company had invested in the company, holding 6.48%.

Behind the optical chip is the hope that China Semiconductor will change lanes and overtake. After careful combing, it is found that Huawei has invested in the entire industrial chain of optical chips so far-from upstream, midstream to downstream, it has invested in corresponding enterprises respectively. With the pace of Huawei, VC/PE has also assembled here.

Huawei kept a low profile:

We just voted for a doctor from Peking University

Let's start with a doctor from Peking University.

Zhu Xiaoqi, founder of Weiyuan Photonics, graduated from eecs with a bachelor's degree and obtained a double bachelor's degree in economics from National Development Research Institute. In the master's degree stage, he chose to continue his studies in Yanyuan, where he studied under Professor Chen Zhangyuan, director of the State Key Laboratory of Peking University Regional Optical Fiber Communication Network and New Optical Communication System, focusing on the field of lasers.

In the early years, communication in China was still stuck in the era of 2G and 3G, and Zhu Xiaoqi specialized in one technology-narrow linewidth laser. Laser is one of the important components of lidar, even known as "the eye of lidar", and narrow-line laser means better performance.

In the long-term scientific research process, Zhu Xiaoqi keenly felt a trend: the communication world is moving from the electric age to the optical age in an all-round way. In order to break through the bottleneck of the electric limit, it is inevitable to use optical communication technology to ease a large number of computing power needs. This gave him the idea of starting a business. In November 218, Zhu Xiaoqi officially founded Weiyuan Photonics (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd.

Weiyuan Photonics Team has a strong Peking University gene-except Zhu Xiaoqi, many core members of the team are from Peking University, and the company's chief scientist is Professor Chen Zhangyuan himself. Combined with the relevant Industry-University-Research achievements of Peking University Institute of Electronics, micro-source photons focus on the research and development and production of miniaturized narrow linewidth lasers, low-noise millimeter-wave sources and supporting photoelectric modules, and many core technologies have independent intellectual property rights.

data show that the photoelectric solution of micro-source photon can be widely used in laser measurement (lidar, ranging mapping, three-dimensional scanning), high-speed optical communication, chip-level atomic clock, millimeter-wave communication, cutting-edge scientific research and education and many other fields. Whether it is autonomous driving, high-precision maps, or communication, it should be applied to photoelectric solutions, and the related downstream market scale can reach 1 billion. Especially with the outbreak of autonomous driving, micro-source photons began to enter the investor's field of vision.

Previously, micro-source photonics kept the financing rhythm of one year. In August, 22, the company obtained the angel round investment from former Haifu Rong, and in March, 221, it obtained the A round financing from Tongwei Capital. Through equity penetration, we can also find that A-share listed companies century huatong, Huaxi and Zhejiang Dongfang also indirectly hold shares in Weiyuan Photon.

at the beginning of this year, micro-source photonics ushered in a heavyweight industrial capital-Xiaomi. Tianyancha shows that on January 21st, Weiyuan Photon added a number of shareholders, including Xiaomi affiliated company Hainan Jimu Venture Capital Co., Ltd., among which Jimu Venture Capital held 6.4828%. The circle believes that this investment is an important measure for Xiaomi to lay out photoelectric chips and accelerate the competition for the industrial chain. Just last week, Shunwei Capital also appeared in Weiyuan Photonic Equity Chain.

At the same time, Hubble Investment, a subsidiary of Huawei, has also added a foreign investment case, which is aimed at micro-source photons. After this capital injection, Hubble also holds 6.4828% of the shares of Weiyuan Photon. Micro-source photon has many patents such as "narrow linewidth laser used by coherent laser radar" on the core device of photoelectric sensor, and this investment is also regarded as another important investment of Huawei in the layout of photoelectric chip.

Huawei has invested in an industrial chain

This frontier track is looming

Through Huawei's latest move, we see a secret track-optical chips.

what is an optical chip? According to the classification, CPU, GPU and other chips commonly used in mobile phones, computers and automobiles belong to integrated circuit chips, which are called electronic chips because they use electrons to generate, process and transmit information. But unlike optical chips, optical chips mainly use photons to generate, process, transmit and display information, so they are superior in transmission speed, data parallelism, bandwidth and delay rate.

in the mid-199s, due to the limitation of semiconductor process conditions and the early demand of the whole industry, silicon photonic technology has not been developed, and the chip with electrons as the carrier is firmly in the leading role.

But nowadays, optical chips have become a battleground for global communication manufacturers and play an irreplaceable role in the development of 5G and even 6G communication. Tang Xiaojun, chief technical planner of Huawei's optical product line, once said that optical communication will be more important in the next decade with its excellent genes of large bandwidth and low delay.

Huawei has long recognized the forward-looking nature of this technology, and has quietly cast an optical chip layout.

In 212, Huawei acquired CIP Technologies, the UK Integrated Photonics Research Center, which started the exploration in the field of optical chips. The following year, Huawei acquired Caliopa, a Belgian silicon optical technology developer, to supplement its own technical gap in the field of optical chips.

219 is an important turning point. Since the second half of 219, Huawei has concentrated on investing in optoelectronic chips, which once set off a domestic investment boom in optical chips.

Yuanjie Semiconductor is a typical case. In September, 22, Huawei Hubble announced its investment in Yuanjie Semiconductor, which was born in Shaanxi Province and is mainly engaged in research and development, production and sales of semiconductor chips for high-speed communication. Since its establishment, it has been in a little-known state for a long time.

According to an investor familiar with the situation in Beijing, it usually takes Hubble more than three months to conduct research, but at that time, the investment in Yuanjie Semiconductor was reduced to one month, and the original approval process of two to three weeks took only a few days. At that time, VC/PE from all walks of life visited the house, and the share competition was particularly fierce.

In the end, Hubble Investment completed the D round of investment in Yuanjie Semiconductor together with CDB Science and Technology Innovation, CDB Finance, Meritorious Management and National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund. According to the latest news, Yuanjie Semiconductor has started the listing process, which will impact the IPO in science and technology innovation board.

in March this year, Huawei also invested in Zonghui Xinguang, another photoelectric chip enterprise. Many VC/PE and industrial capitals such as DJI Innovation, Kaixuyuan Capital, Qianhai Zhonghui Fund, Yicun Capital, Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund, Wuyuefeng Capital, BYD, Gaorong Capital and Yaotu Capital participated in this round of financing.

According to the data, Zonghui Xinguang mainly develops and produces VCSEL chips, devices and modules. The founding team of the company mainly comes from Stanford University, and the co-founder Chen Xiaochi has been deeply involved in the research and development and manufacturing of optoelectronic chips under the guidance of James Harris, an academician of the American Academy of Engineering. As early as June 22, Hubble Investment had exclusively invested in the C round of financing of Zonghui Xinguang.

according to the incomplete statistics of the investment community, Huawei Hubble has collected more than ten optical chip-related enterprises up to now, including Kunyou Optoelectronics, a wafer-level optical chip manufacturer, Core Vision, a silicon optical integrated circuit R&D enterprise, SMIC software, an analog and mixed-signal chip design enterprise, Poly-Core Microelectronics, Tianyue Advanced, a silicon carbide material manufacturer, and packaging inspection equipment.

further, these enterprises cover many links in the industrial chain. It can be said that Huawei has invested in a whole industrial chain.

With Huawei's investment, VC/PE has come

The opportunity for China Semiconductor to catch up

Once upon a time, optical chips were a very deserted track.

until Huawei made a big push, these optical chip companies that had been left out in the cold quickly became popular.

for example, kunyou photoelectric. Lin Tao, the company's helmsman, graduated from Zhu Kezhen College of Optoelectronic Department of Zhejiang University, and went to Cambridge University for further study with full funding from Intel scholars, under the guidance of Ian, an authoritative figure in the field of optoelectronics. Academician White, and received a doctorate in optoelectronics. In 216, Lin Tao returned to China and founded Kunyou Optoelectronics, which plunged into this semiconductor "no man's land" and focused on the research and development and application of wafer-level optical chips.

since then, the financing amount of Kunyou Optoelectronics has directly doubled. In 22, Kunyou Optoelectronics announced a new round of 2 million yuan Series B financing, in which Joy Capital, CMB International Capital and Yuanhe Chenkun participated, and Kunzhong Capital, Lingang Zhizhao, Walden International, Zhongke Chuangxing, Yuanjing Capital and Chenhui Venture Capital all joined in. In 221, Kunyou Optoelectronics completed nearly 4 million B+ rounds of financing, and more than a dozen investment institutions such as CITIC Zhengye Xinye Industry Fund, Yunfeng Fund, Pudong Kechuang Group Haiwang Capital, Jianxin Investment, Mingshi Capital, Source Capital and Country Garden Core Alliance Enterprise Yingrui Capital followed closely.

"Huawei has formed a unique advantage in the semiconductor supply chain, and its brand influence is speechless. Many institutions that follow up believe in Huawei's strategic vision. " A VC partner in Shanghai who focuses on hard technology said. In his view, Huawei's investment layout is stable and accurate, understands technology, and knows where the market is. Its shot in the semiconductor field has become a weather vane.

Not long ago, another interesting financing was born for optical chips. In April this year, Lingming Photonics completed several hundred million yuan of Series C financing, led by Meituan Longzhu, and the old shareholders Kunzhong Capital and Gaochun Capital continued to raise money. In 218, Lingming Photon was founded by four famous doctors, Dr. Haigui, who devoted themselves to the research of single photon detector (SPAD) technology.

In addition, Xizhi Technology, Changguanghua Core and Xinyun Photoelectric Intensive Company announced over 1 million financing, and many well-known investment institutions such as IDG Capital, Gaorong Capital, Puhua Capital, Guangsu China, Kunzhong Capital, Lenovo Star, CPE Yuanfeng and Zhenge Fund flocked here, and industrial capitals such as Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund, OPPO and Meituan Dragon Ball also gathered here.

this is a market that few people can refuse. Huawei Strategic Research Institute believes that the development prospect of photonic industry is huge, and the market value of photonic core components is not less than 32 billion US dollars (about 2 trillion yuan). In the future, it will incite the industry to create 2.6 trillion US dollars (about 16 trillion yuan). Output value.

there is also an investment circle * * * knowledge: in contrast, China is the easiest to achieve lane change and overtaking in the field of optical chips. In the words of Mi Lei, a science and technology star, "In the field of photonic chips, the gap between us and foreign countries is the smallest, and the competitive pressure is also the smallest. In the future, whether it is the Internet, the Internet of Things or the infrastructure of 5G, artificial intelligence and metauniverse, photonic technology will be inseparable, and photonic chips will become the key cornerstone of the intelligent era. "

more crucially, once optical chips are mass-produced and put into use, mask aligner may become a thing of the past. Nowadays, mask aligner is still the most bottleneck technology for domestic chips. Even without high-end mask aligner, it may be difficult for domestic chips to go high-end. Optical chips can partially replace high-end computing chips, thus reducing the dependence on cutting-edge mask aligner and accelerating the process of chip localization.

in a word, the strong rise of domestic optical chips is a strategic opportunity for us to catch up. Nowadays, American chip manufacturers occupy half of the world, and they are super giants such as Intel, Qualcomm and NVIDIA. However, the emergence of optical chips is expected to end the previous era and open the next era.

As investors feel, if we seize the opportunity of optical chips, then China is also expected to have its own chip giant.

this article comes from the investment community.