According to MEMS Consulting, recently, Optoelectronic sensor chip manufacturer Epticore Microelectronics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Epticore") announced that it had completed tens of millions of yuan of industrial financing. This round of financing was led by Sany Heavy Industry (Sany Capital), with Wuxi Huihe Capital.
It is reported that this round of financing is mainly used for the development and expansion of new products and production in the field of consumer electronics and smart wearables field, as well as the layout of product lines for the field of automotive electronics, which will further consolidate the leading position of Epticore in the field of high-end optical sensor chips and actively promote cooperation with the industry in technology and products.
According to the optical sensor report released by Global Market Insights, the optical sensor market will reach 36 billion dollars in 2026. At present, the market space of high-end optical sensors used in mobile phones, industry and automotive electronics is mainly occupied by overseas or Taiwan-funded enterprises. With the domestic substitution and the surge of innovation demand for downstream terminals, domestic optical sensor enterprises are expected to rise in this field
Epticore was founded in 2011. Its headquarters and production and operation base are located in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, with R&D and marketing centres in Shanghai and permanent offices in Shenzhen, Beijing and Changsha. The company has fully mastered the core technical capabilities of chip-level optical converters in design, process, packaging, testing and related algorithms, and has dozens of invention patents. Its products cover optical sensors (including narrow slit and under-display sensors), heart rate sensors, colour temperature sensors, and single point and array TOF sensors, which can be used in mobile phones, tablet PC, smart wearable devices, artificial intelligence, internet of things, automotive electronics and other fields.
Operating principle and chip architecture of Epco ToF sensor
Epticore optical sensor products have been tested and verified by many branded mobile phone, tablet PC and wearable customers, and have achieved the cumulative shipment of 100KK level (100 million pieces), which can meet customers' standards and demands in the core indexes of optical conversion efficiency, ultra-low power consumption, ultra-small size and reliability. With the development of full-screen mobile phones, the slit or light transmission rate that can be transmitted will become smaller and smaller, therefore, this requires the design, process, coating and algorithm to match and adjust accordingly to accurately distinguish different light sources and improve the optical conversion efficiency. In addition, in the context of rapid updates and iteration of smart wearable devices and differentiated competition, the ultra-low power consumption and ultra-small size of sensors have raised higher requirements. Epticore optical sensors can detect micro-currents at the FEA level, and some indicators such as light sensitivity have surpassed similar foreign brands. Currently, Epticore has more than 20 series of optical sensors to achieve mass production. And the products can be widely used in various consumer and intelligent electronic products.
Dr. Bizhou Li, Chairman of Epticore, said that in 2022, Epticore will officially enter the field of automotive electronics, and its product line will involve three business modules: intelligent cabin, human-machine interaction and intelligent driving. The core technology and innovation of chips and algorithms accumulated in the field of optoelectronic intelligent sensing for many years will be expanded to the new track of automotive electronics to provide customers with competitive intelligent software and hardware solutions.
Sany Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the world's construction machinery giant Sany Heavy Industries and a CVC functional platform. With the investment theme of "China's industrial upgrading", it focuses on early and mid-stage investment in pan-industrial technology. Centring on the two main lines of "intelligent manufacturing" and "vehicle ecology", it seeks investment opportunities in three sub-sectors, such as new materials and devices, equipment integration and industrial digitalization, and providing three-dimensional and powerful post-investment support in purchase, production, marketing, research, financing and management. The professional philosophy of Sany Capital is "entrepreneurial spirit and engineer thinking". There are permanent offices in Shenzhen, Changsha, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Wuxi (Yangtze River Delta). Wuxi Huihe Capital has invested in 30+ companies in high-end equipment and intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new energy, life sciences and other industries, with a total investment amount of 1.5+ billion RMB, attracting and landing major projects such as Lanpei Technology and Moore Elite, promoting the layout of innovative enterprises with core technology advantages and front-end projects of the industry chain in the future industries of the development zone, and helping the iterative innovation of the regional industrial landscape.
Daming Gao, chairman of Sany Capital, said: With the US sanctions against China in the chip field, domestic terminal manufacturers began to actively seek domestic suppliers. As a device widely used in consumer electronics, industry and automotive fields, optical sensors have a broad market space. We are optimistic about Epticore's technology accumulation over the years, as well as the progress and shipment of its products in consumer electronics. In the future, with the layout of automotive electronics and industrial products, we believe that Epticore is expected to gradually replace the market share of similar overseas chips in the domestic market, providing high-performance and cost-effective products for the industry.
Wuxi Huihe Capital Investment Team said:
Optical sensors are an emerging market driven by the iterative demand of the headstock market and the new demand of the long tail market. In particular, under the current round of out-of-stock markets and the trend of domestic substitution, domestic optical sensors have attracted structured market opportunities and supply chain introduction opportunities in the consumer electronics field. Epticore, as one of the few domestic manufacturers with national production supply chain delivery capabilities and supply cases, is expected to quickly gain market share by virtue of the first mover advantage.
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E-mail:sales@epticore.com