China chip designer Memsic raises $155m
Memsic, a Chinese semiconductor design company that was privatized with support from IDG Capital in 2013, has raised more than RMB1 billion ($155 million) led by an industry fund under Hangzhou Fortuna Investment Management.
Other participants include Yunfeng Capital, Olympus Capital, Yangtze River Delta Synergy Industry Fund - which is managed by Shanghai International Group - and an unnamed Asian sovereign wealth fund. The new capital will be used to build production lines and for technology development.
Founded in 1999, Memsic specializes in combining micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensors with CMOS-based integrated circuitry (IC) technology. The solid-state sensors respond to external stimuli and the resulting electrical signals are carried through electronic systems via ICs.
It claims to have successfully developed more than 30 types of acceleration sensors, magnetic sensors, and other products. By year-end 2019, sensor shipments exceeded 1.7 billion units. Customers include Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Microsoft, Google, Lenovo, and TCL, as well as carmakers such as Ford Motor, Volvo, Hyundai, and Nissan.
When MEMSIC listed on NASDAQ in 2007 it became the first MEMS specialist globally to go public. IDG-Accel China Growth Fund II teamed up with the company's founder and CEO on the $96.8 billion take-private.
PE and VC investment in China's semiconductor space has proliferated, largely due to strong policy support for the industry as Beijing looks to reduce dependency on imports. The likes of Enflame Technology, Vastai Technologies, Yunyinggu, Brite Semiconductor, and Eswin Technology Group have all received funding in recent months.
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