Latest news with #Naura
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: SiCarrier - Huawei partner in chips - seeks $2.8 billion in funds, sources say
BEIJING/HONG KONG, May 14 (Reuters) - SiCarrier, a Chinese chip equipment maker with close links to Huawei, is seeking $2.8 billion in its maiden fundraising round, two people familiar with the plans said, as the startup chases more clients and clout. SiCarrier was until recently little known, but it has become the most talked-about company in Chinese semiconductor circles this year as the breadth of its planned product range and ambitions emerges. Founded in 2021 and owned by the Shenzhen city government, SiCarrier is largely seen as a Huawei supplier. But it wants to become the leading domestic provider of chipmaking equipment in China, surpassing Naura ( opens new tab and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment China (AMEC) ( opens new tab, according to four people with knowledge of its goals. It is a prime example of how U.S. restrictions on exports of chipmaking gear and advanced semiconductors to China, while curbing tech progress in the world's second-largest economy in some ways, have spurred Chinese firms to take up President Xi Jinping's call to evolve into a self-sufficient domestic chip industry. The government of Shenzhen, a tech metropolis in southern China, is looking to sell roughly 25% of a SiCarrier unit and is after an 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) valuation, said one of the sources, adding the fundraising could conclude in the coming weeks. The source also said the unit does not include SiCarrier's lithography assets. Reuters was not able to learn the name of the unit. The proceeds will mostly go towards research, and Chinese state-owned firms, state funds, as well as domestic venture capital and private equity funds have expressed interest in investing, said two sources. It will likely be one of the largest yuan-denominated fundraisings by a Chinese company this year. Reuters spoke to 10 people with knowledge of SiCarrier's business for this article. All declined to be identified as the company has not publicly disclosed its plans. SiCarrier, which was slapped with U.S. export controls late last year due to its close ties to Huawei ( did not respond to requests for comment. Huawei said it was not affiliated with SiCarrier. The Shenzhen government also did not respond to requests for comment. SiCarrier spent its initial years largely silent about its plans but made a splash at this year's Semicon China trade fair in March, drawing large crowds with a catalogue of 30 machines ranging from etching tools to inspection equipment named after Chinese mountains. Its lithography systems were, however, not on display. While executives at the time did not go into detail about the readiness of its products, two sources said most of SiCarrier's line-up is still under development and is not production-ready. Chipmaking equipment usually undergoes long testing and validation processes before being adopted by customers. "Considering the brief period since their establishment, it seems nearly impossible for them to have developed such complex machinery and completed the extensive verification process required," Bernstein analysts also wrote in a March client note. Even if SiCarrier makes rapid progress over the next couple of years, it is likely to take far longer before Chinese chip equipment providers make a serious dent in foreign dominance of the field. Last year, domestically made wafer fabrication equipment accounted for just 11.3% of total purchases by China, according to data from consultancy TechInsights. China has spent $128 billion on such equipment since 2020, when the U.S. started curbing chip sector exports, the data shows. A Reuters review of 92 Chinese patents filed by Shenzhen SiCarrier Industry Machines and its parent company Shenzhen SiCarrier Technologies between October 2022 and March this year shows the group wants to be a one-stop shop for all equipment to make a chip, preparing a far more ambitious product line-up than Naura or AMEC. The patents, searched with U.S. firm Anaqua's AcclaimIP database and verified by Reuters, range from wafer measurement devices to etching systems to deposition systems that layer thin films on wafers to give them electrical characteristics. That puts SiCarrier into competition with firms such as KLA (KLAC.O), opens new tab, Lam Research (LRCX.O), opens new tab from the U.S. and Tokyo Electron (8035.T), opens new tab. SiCarrier is also investing in AI-driven wafer defect recognition, cutting-edge tech that aims to improve chip yields. Measurement and inspection tools hold the most potential for SiCarrier to make its mark because no dominant player in these areas has emerged in China, according to two of the sources. Other patents include components for deep ultraviolet technology (DUV) lithography systems and multi-patterning chip-making techniques that SiCarrier has touted as a solution to solving China's lack of access to top-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools. But multi-patterning, which replaces optical lithography with various atomic-layer etching and deposition steps, has its sceptics. The technique, introduced by U.S. chip giant Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab in the 2010s and used by Taiwan's TSMC ( opens new tab for its first generation of 7-nanometre chips, is prone to errors and lower yields due to increased manufacturing steps, according to Dan Hutcheson, vice chair at TechInsights. According to industry executives, SiCarrier was formed out of a Huawei unit that made semiconductor tools. And while some Chinese foundries have purchased SiCarrier equipment to show support for the government venture, there has also been reluctance to use the products due to concerns that trade secrets could be leaked to Huawei, three of the sources said. Chip equipment manufacturers work closely with foundries to test, validate and improve their products, and customer reticence could impede how quickly SiCarrier makes progress. The companies' ties run deep with Huawei seconding several staff members to SiCarrier from its HiSilicon chip design unit, according to one source. "The biggest problem is not the product, but that when customers use its equipment, Huawei might know their process parameters," said another source. "If it wants to grow big, it needs to separate from Huawei completely, but even so, it will still take several years to validate and iterate the products." ($1 = 7.2480 Chinese yuan)
South China Morning Post
08-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's top chip tool maker Naura sees revenue surge amid US trade tensions
Naura Technology Group, China's top chip equipment maker, said it expects a sharp rise in revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2025, after reporting strong performance in 2024, highlighting the country's progress towards semiconductor self-sufficiency. Advertisement The Beijing-based company, a key equipment supplier for the domestic chip industry, said in a corporate filing on Tuesday that final figures for the first three months of 2025 could see revenue up by as much as 51 per cent year on year to 8.98 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion). Net profit is expected to rise as much as 53 per cent to 1.74 billion yuan. It teased the quarterly numbers after reporting a 44.2 per cent surge in net profit in 2024 to 5.6 billion yuan. Revenue was up 35.1 per cent year on year to 29.8 billion yuan, marking the third consecutive year of growth for the Shenzhen-listed firm. Naura attributed its strong performance to technological breakthroughs in new etching and deposition products, which helped boost revenue and market share. The company's growth comes as China intensifies efforts to reduce reliance on US technologies and chip tool providers such as California-based Lam Research and Applied Materials. Advertisement Naura recently climbed two spots in a global ranking of semiconductor equipment suppliers, coming in sixth by revenue for 2024, according to a report from Chinese research firm CINNO. It is the only Chinese company among the world's top 10 chip tool vendors.
Asia Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
China's Naura rising to the chip-making equipment challenge
Naura Technology, China's top semiconductor production equipment maker, has risen to 6th place in the global ranking, according to Shanghai-based technology consulting firm CINNO Research. Only industry giants ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron and KLA now lead Naura in terms of total sales. The CINNO Ranking for 2024 looks like this: ASML (Netherlands) Applied Materials (USA) Lam Research (USA) Tokyo Electron (Japan) KLA (USA) NAURA (China) Screen (Japan) Advantest (Japan) ASM International (Netherlands) Disco (Japan) Naura has risen to prominence with the rapid growth of the Chinese semiconductor industry, which accounted for more than 40% of global demand for production equipment last year. Sources: SEMI; 2024 company data and estimates for countries ex-China. Chart: Asia Times In January, Naura reported preliminary high and low sales estimates for 2024 that averaged 29.7 billion yuan, or US$4.1 billion at the current exchange rate, up 36% from 2023. Complete and finalized financial results are scheduled for release in April. Naura's sales have tripled in the past three years and are now 7.5 times higher than they were in 2019. Source: Company data; Chart: Asia Times CINNO ranked Naura 8th in 2023, but a more comprehensive analysis conducted by TechInsights, comparing not company-wide sales but sales of semiconductor production equipment alone, put it in 10th place. In that year, semiconductor production equipment accounted for about 60% of Naura's total sales. According to the numbers available so far, there was probably a similar gap in 2024, indicating that Naura ranked 8th, not 6th. Nevertheless, it is now one of the most prominent companies in the industry and outgrowing its competitors. There is a very large gap between the first and second tiers of the industry, but it appears that Naura has the potential to catch up with KLA by the end of the decade. Source: TechInsights; Chart: Asia Times Naura rose to prominence during a period of fair treatment by the US government. In January 2018, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved the Chinese company's acquisition of Akrion Systems, a producer of silicon wafer surface preparation equipment based in Pennsylvania. In October 2022, the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added Naura Technology subsidiary Beijing Naura Magnetoelectric Technology to its Unverified List, but removed it in December after discussions with management. Companies are put on the Unverified List when the BIS cannot 'verify their bona fides because an end-use check could not be completed satisfactorily' – in this case, for violations of restrictions on exports to the People's Republic of China. However, the BIS finally added Naura to its Entity List in December 2025 – one of 140 entities 'determined by the US Government to be acting contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States' in a final mass sanctioning of technology exports to China and related destinations in Singapore, South Korea and Japan by the Biden administration. 'The Entity List,' as stated by the BIS, 'identifies entities for which there is reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entities have been involved, are involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.' But Naura is not terribly worried, stating that 'Currently, 90% of the company's revenue comes from the domestic market and less than 10% in overseas markets, so this impact is expected to be small.' Naura's product line currently includes deposition, etching, cleaning, heat treatment, UV curing and crystal growth equipment for the semiconductor, flat panel display and photovoltaic industries, lithium-ion battery manufacturing equipment, capacitors, resistors, crystal devices and power supply and microwave modules. In addition, it reportedly plans to add photoresist coating and developing to its semiconductor equipment portfolio by acquiring a substantial stake in and eventually taking control of Kingsemi, the only Chinese maker of this equipment. Tokyo Electron has about 90% of the market for coater/developer equipment, with Japan's Screen Holdings accounting for most of the remainder. Naura competes with Tokyo Electron in deposition, etch and cleaning equipment, and with Screen in cleaning equipment. In deposition and etch, it is also up against Lam Research and Applied Materials, but those two companies have been hamstrung in China by a US government order preventing American companies from servicing the equipment they have sold there. There are numerous other Chinese makers of semiconductor production equipment attempting to break into the industry supply chain. The second largest one, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC), specializes in deposition and etch. With sales of about $1.2 billion in 2024, AMEC is likely to place between 15th and 20th in the global ranking. But with sales having risen by an estimated 45% last year, it is moving up fast. SMIC, Hua Hong and other Chinese foundries, YMTC and other Chinese makers of memory ICs – the entire Chinese semiconductor industry is buying whatever equipment they can from Naura, AMEC and other domestic suppliers. For about a year now, Western and Japanese companies and market research organizations have been forecasting a slowdown in Chinese equipment demand, but they have so far been wrong and are probably still. As long as there is market share to take from imports subject to US-led sanctions, the sales of Chinese semiconductor equipment makers should continue to grow. Follow this writer on X: @ScottFo83517667
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Naura climbs the ranks of world's top chipmaking equipment suppliers
Naura Technology Group climbed up in the rankings of the world's biggest semiconductor equipment suppliers in 2024, as China's leading chip tool maker braced for tighter US tech restrictions. Beijing-based Naura was ranked sixth among global chipmaking equipment suppliers by revenue last year, up from eighth place in 2023 when it cracked the industry's top-10 leaderboard for the first time, according to a report last week by Chinese semiconductor research firm CINNO. The state-backed company, which is expected to post about a 40 per cent increase in 2024 sales, was the only Chinese firm among the world's top-10 chipmaking equipment vendors, according to CINNO data. Dutch giant ASML Holding topped the table, followed by US companies Applied Materials and Lam Research. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The combined 2024 revenue of the top 10 global chipmaking equipment suppliers rose 10 per cent to about US$110 billion from a year earlier, the CINNO report showed. Naura's ascent reflects Beijing's push for greater self-reliance in core technologies, including semiconductors, amid tightened trade restrictions imposed by Washington and heightened tensions between the world's two largest economies. Naura Technology Group's PSE V300 deep silicon etching machine. Photo: Naura alt=Naura Technology Group's PSE V300 deep silicon etching machine. Photo: Naura> Shenzhen-listed Naura's shares closed slightly down at 442.80 yuan (US$61) on Wednesday. Naura forecast total 2024 sales to grow between 25 per cent and 44 per cent to reach 27.6 billion yuan to 31.8 billion yuan, driven by product breakthroughs and expanded market share, the company said in a filing in January. It also expected a 33 per cent to 53 per cent jump in net income up to around 5.95 billion yuan. Naura faces increased pressure after the company and 140 other Chinese organisations were added to Washington's so-called Entity List in December over national security concerns. According to the US Commerce Department, the move would further impair China's ability to make advanced-node semiconductors that can be used in technologies with military applications. At the time, Naura downplayed the impact of its blacklisting by the US, asserting that the situation would not have a material impact on the company's business. The US government, however, announced new trade regulations in January to fortify tech restrictions on China. These rules would completely block the export of artificial-intelligence chips and related technologies to Chinese enterprises. Global chipmaking equipment market leader ASML, meanwhile, plans to upgrade its "reuse-and-repair" centre in Beijing this year, according to the firm's annual report published this month. Mainland China was ASML's largest market, which accounted for 36.1 per cent of its total sales in 2024, overtaking Taiwan for the first time, the report said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
12-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's Naura climbs the ranks of world's top chipmaking equipment suppliers
Advertisement Beijing -based Naura was ranked sixth among global chipmaking equipment suppliers by revenue last year, up from eighth place in 2023 when it cracked the industry's top-10 leaderboard for the first time, according to a report last week by Chinese semiconductor research firm CINNO. The state-backed company, which is expected to post about a 40 per cent increase in 2024 sales, was the only Chinese firm among the world's top-10 chipmaking equipment vendors, according to CINNO data. Dutch giant ASML Holding topped the table, followed by US companies Applied Materials and Lam Research The combined 2024 revenue of the top 10 global chipmaking equipment suppliers rose 10 per cent to about US$110 billion from a year earlier, the CINNO report showed. Naura's ascent reflects Beijing's push for greater self-reliance in core technologies, including semiconductors, amid tightened trade restrictions imposed by Washington and heightened tensions between the world's two largest economies. Naura Technology Group's PSE V300 deep silicon etching machine. Photo: Naura Shenzhen -listed Naura's shares closed slightly down at 442.80 yuan (US$61) on Wednesday.
