On August 29, the Suzhou Song Tong Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Song Tong Semiconductor) announced the completion of a strategic financing of several hundred million yuan. The investors are Tai Lingwei, SV Investment, and Dao Yi Capital.

The reporter of the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" noticed that among the above-mentioned investors, Tai Lingwei (688591) is a listed company on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and the company's main business is IoT products such as multimode IoT chips and wireless audio chips.

Compared to other industry capitals, Tai Lingwei is not very active in investing, and this investment is Tai Lingwei's first public equity investment since its establishment. Currently, Song Tong Semiconductor has multiple Wi-Fi 6 STA and AIOT SoC chips in mass production and shipping.

Tai Lingwei took action and invested in Song Tong Semiconductor.

Tai Lingwei (688591) and the invested company Song Tong Semiconductor belong to the field of wireless communication technology.

The former's products are low-power IoT chips, which are used in smart homes, wearable devices, industrial sensors, and other products; the latter focuses on the development of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 chipsets, which are suitable for high-speed data transmission and high-density connection scenes, such as home routers, enterprise networks, and smart cities.

Under the coverage of the industry chain, Tai Lingwei (688591) made its first move and invested in Song Tong Semiconductor.

Regarding the reason for this move, a reporter from the Star Market Daily called the Secretary's Office of Taiwan Micro and its staff stated that WiFi and multi-mode product research and development, as well as technological upgrades, is one of the fundraising projects. Therefore, the investment in Speedoon Semiconductor is also based on strategic considerations.

According to the prospectus, the WiFi and multi-mode product research and development and technological upgrade project is one of the fundraising projects of Taiwan Micro, with a proposed investment amount of 0.15 billion yuan. Among the risks of industry technological iteration, WiFi and Bluetooth are among the risks that may occur.

Taiwan Micro believes that wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth and WiFi are temporarily difficult to completely replace ZigBee technology in specific fields. However, at the same time, Taiwan Micro is also actively developing projects such as low-power WiFi Bluetooth SoC chips.

An investor interviewed by the Star Market Daily said that as a new generation of wireless communication standards, Speedoon Semiconductor's focus on Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 chip development is gradually becoming the market mainstream, and it is applied in high-bandwidth and densely connected environments. It should be a complementary relationship with ZigBee technology represented by Taiwan Micro.

"In terms of technology, Taiwan Micro's focus on IoT chips should move towards lower power consumption and higher performance; Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 chipsets are to improve performance and support more users and devices." The investor mentioned that for Taiwan Micro, which has relatively few investments, this strategic investment is of significant importance in terms of resource optimization, technological expansion, and business extension.

Xiaomi Capital is an important investor.

As representatives of two types of technology in the industry, Taiwan Micro (688591) and Speedoon Semiconductor have completed multiple rounds of financing respectively.

The reporters of the Star Market Daily noticed that the investment of both parties included the presence of Xiaomi Capital. Speedoon Semiconductor, established in 2018, received two investments from Xiaomi Capital.

In February 2020, Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund and Yaotu Capital participated in the A-round financing of Sutong Semiconductor. At that time, the Sutong Semiconductor team was further investing in the research and development and mass production of Wi-Fi 6 technology-related SoC products and promoting their sales. In December of the same year, Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund made another bet and participated in the A+ round financing of Sutong Semiconductor with a scale of 150 million yuan, with other investors including Junhai Chuangxin, Yuanhe Holdings, Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Zhenhua Electronic Co., Ltd.

Among them, the leading investor Junhai Chuangxin is a professional investment institution in the semiconductor field, jointly owned by Junlian Capital and SK China, with each holding a 50% equity stake.

In the eight rounds of financing before the IPO of Telink Microelectronics (688591), Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund participated in the D+ round in December 2020. Behind the move is Xiaomi's core strategy of 'phone x AIoT'. The financial report for the second quarter of 2024 showed that Xiaomi's IoT and consumer goods business revenue reached 26.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.3%.

As an important platform for Xiaomi Group's strategic investment in the industrial chain, Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund has a wide and active range of investments in semiconductor chip design, sensors, discrete devices, etc., which has always been its important investment area.

For the investment in Telink Microelectronics, 'strategic coordination' is seen as an important reason for Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund to make a move. The above-mentioned investors stated that Xiaomi Group has been actively laying out the IoT field, and investing in Telink Microelectronics will help Xiaomi Group's strategic layout and technological accumulation in the field of IoT chips.

'By investing in Telink Microelectronics, Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund can further build and improve Xiaomi's IoT industrial ecosystem, enhance Xiaomi's competitiveness in the smart hardware field. Of course, in terms of financial returns, Telink Microelectronics, as a professional chip design company in a segmented field, also has great growth potential and investment returns.'

As for Sutong Semiconductor, the above-mentioned investors believe that Xiaomi's move is also based on technical and strategic considerations. 'At present, Xiaomi's IoT strategy has already covered smart homes, smart cities, enterprise networks, and other fields. When Sutong Semiconductor's multiple chip products are mass-produced and shipped, investment will help accelerate the commercialization of Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 technology and support the practice and application of Xiaomi's IoT business.'

The founder is from South Korea and has nearly 20 years of experience in semiconductor market marketing.

From Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund to Junhai Chuangxin, Yuanhe Holding, Universal Scientific Industrial(Shanghai)Co.,Ltd., Zhongdi Haikang, as well as Ping An Overseas, Zhongyin Holding, SK China, the investors of Speed FC excellent semiconductor company have gathered industry capital, insurance funds, and well-known financial investment institutions.

In the market, various institutions have made moves, possibly due to the founding team. According to disclosures, the founding team of Speed FC excellent semiconductor company consists of senior industry professionals from Silicon Valley and South Korea.

The reporter of 'The Star Market Daily' learned that Speed FC excellent semiconductor company, headquartered on the shore of Jinji Lake in Suzhou Industrial Park, has its founder and CEO, Li Xianzhong, holding South Korean citizenship. With an engineering background, he has nearly 20 years of semiconductor industry marketing experience. After visiting several Chinese cities, he eventually chose to establish Speed FC excellent semiconductor in Suzhou, focusing on the independent research and industrialization of the sixth generation of wireless SoC chipsets.

"The world's largest semiconductor consumer market is in China. To develop the business, we need to be closer to the customers." Li Xianzhong stated that the reason for starting a business in Suzhou is due to the excellent talents and industry ecosystem here.

According to Li Xianzhong, the company currently has two products in mass production. One is mainly used in ultra-high-definition streaming terminal products such as televisions, laptops, and cameras, while the other can be widely used in the smart home field.

"In the next 1-2 years, the company also plans to expand into applications other than smartphones, including entering the field of smart driving." Li Xianzhong stated.

Since its establishment in Suzhou, Speed FC excellent semiconductor has won multiple awards, including National Unicorn Enterprise, Jiangsu Double Innovation Entrepreneurship Enterprise, Gusu Major Leading Team, Suzhou Unicorn Enterprise, Suzhou Industrial Park Leading Talents, Suzhou Industrial Park Nursery (Key Enterprise), etc.

Li Xianzhong once stated that the localization of core technology is the investment focus that Suzhou should concentrate on. In the A2 round of financing in April 2022, 'The Star Market Daily' reporters noticed that Speed FC excellent semiconductor was oversubscribed, successfully raising 0.3 billion yuan, marking the first appearance of Suzhou state-owned assets among the investors.