- Yangtze River Delta startups in robotic parts, semiconductor equipment, chips and fusion materials raised fresh funding
- New capital injections will support product R&D, manufacturing expansion, equipment upgrades and overseas growth
Encos raises nearly $45M in Series B for robot joint modules
Nanjing-based robotic joint-module maker Encos (因克斯) has completed a Series B financing round of more than 300 million yuan ($44.69 million), bringing in a group of new strategic and financial investors while attracting further backing from existing shareholders.
New investors include CITIC Goldstone Investment, Nice Group, Suzhou Capital Group, Sinowisdom, Nanjing Communications Holding and Ever Glory Venture Capital.
Existing investors including Fosun Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group, T-Capital, Jinqiu Capital and Puhua Capital also participated in the latest round after multiple follow-on investments.
Founded in 2022, Encos’ core team comes from institutions including Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
After three years of technology development beginning in 2019, the company has developed and mass-produced key components including planetary gearboxes, compact cycloidal gearboxes and high-performance brushless-motor drivers.
Encos’ product portfolio is built around two core capabilities for robots. Motion control is supported by a power system comprising joint modules, intelligent batteries and communication modules, while intelligent manipulation is handled by an end-effector system comprising dexterous hands and data-collection gloves. Together, the systems form what the company describes as the robot’s “skeleton.”
The latest funding will be used for product development, manufacturing capabilities and business expansion.
Semicon parts maker ZM Vacuum closes $15M Series A funding round
Suzhou-based semiconductor-component maker ZM Vacuum (兆默真空) has completed a 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) Series A round led by CAS Star, with Value Capital, Co-win Ventures and Zing Capital participating. Existing investor Shanghai Semiconductor Material Industry Investment Fund also increased its stake.
The company specializes in the development and manufacturing of high- and ultra-high-vacuum chambers.
ZM Vacuum says it is currently the only Chinese company capable of one-sided welding of ultra-thick plates while achieving mature mass production and shipment of aluminum-alloy vacuum chambers for semiconductor applications.
Its products are used in semiconductor equipment, controlled nuclear fusion and major scientific facilities.
The new funding will be used to expand production capacity, accelerate core technology development and product upgrades, expand the company’s market presence and strengthen its team.
Sensing chipmaker Time Vision nets nearly $15M in pre-Series A++ round
Shanghai-based optoelectronic sensing-chip developer Time Vision Semiconductor Technology (传周科技) has completed a pre-Series A++ financing round of nearly 100 million yuan ($14.9 million), led by Shanghai STVC Group, with Trium Capital and DHLT Investment participating.
The company develops and commercializes photoelectric encoder chips, grating-scale chips and related systems.
The latest funding will support R&D and upgrades of its core products, production-line construction and the recruitment of high-end technical talent.
QM-Auto bags shy of $15M in Series B to scale semicon test machines
Suzhou-based semiconductor test-equipment maker QM-Auto (乾鸣半导体) has completed a Series B financing round worth about 100 million yuan ($14.9 million), led by Caitong Innovation.
Suzhou Harvest Capital, Suzhou Capital Group and Suzhou Yidao Capital also participated.
Founded in 2015, QM-Auto develops and manufactures memory-chip test sorters, burn-in test equipment, AOI optical inspection systems and automated chip-packaging equipment.
Its products cover memory technologies and devices including DDR, LPDDR, SSD, eMMC and UFS. Customers include leading Chinese semiconductor companies such as Yangtze Memory (长江存储), ChangXin Memory Technologies (长鑫存储), Longsys (江波龙), JCET (长电科技), Huatian Technology (华天科技) and GigaDevice (兆易创新).
The new funding will be used to expand equipment production capacity, increase investment in test-equipment R&D and develop customers in both China and overseas markets.
Maiwei Technology secures nearly $15M to advance fusion materials
Hefei-based advanced-materials company Maiwei Technology (迈微新材料) has secured nearly 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) in new funding from Xing Tai Venture Capital.
The company was incubated by an advanced functional materials and devices research team at Hefei University of Technology, with Professor Wu Yucheng (吴玉程) leading its core R&D effort.
Maiwei focuses on two areas: radiation-resistant materials for controlled nuclear fusion and electromagnetic functional materials.
In fusion materials, the company’s oxide-dispersion-strengthened tungsten and copper materials have undergone testing and validation on the EAST fusion device.
Maiwei says the materials are among the preferred candidates for first-wall applications in next-generation fusion reactors.
In electromagnetic functional materials, the company’s ultra-high-frequency-band absorbing material is China’s first product of its type with fully independent intellectual-property rights, according to the company.
It has already entered the supply chain of international customers including Germany-based Albatross Projects GmbH.
The latest funding will support further technology development and commercialization of its advanced materials.
