Fund backed by China memory giant YMTC invests in push for alternative chipmaking route

A venture capital firm, heavily backed by China's leading NAND flash memory producer Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), has recently invested in SOI Micro, a domestic semiconductor manufacturer. This move adds significant weight to China's efforts to develop an alternative chipmaking ecosystem. SOI Micro specializes in fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology, a low-power chipmaking process that offers a different route to mainstream manufacturing methods.

The Shanghai-based company was recently upgraded to a 2.53 billion yuan (US$375 million) registered capital from its previous 2.39 billion yuan, with the Wuhan-based Changcun Industry Investment Fund as the new investor. The size and exact stake of this investment were not disclosed. The Changcun Industry Investment Fund, established in 2023, is a joint venture between YMTC and the Hubei Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, a state-backed entity in Wuhan.

While the fund has primarily focused on memory-chip supply-chain players, this investment in SOI Micro broadens its scope into specialized logic manufacturing. Soi Micro, founded in Guangzhou in 2022, is led by Ye Tianchun, a renowned semiconductor specialist who previously headed China's Institute of Microelectronics within the Chinese Academy of Sciences and served as chief technologist for a prominent state project aimed at advancing domestic chipmaking technologies.

SOI Micro's primary focus is on a FD-SOI manufacturing platform for 28-nanometre-class logic processes. The technology uses a thin layer of silicon over an insulating layer to reduce leakage and power consumption, serving as a complementary approach to FinFET, a 3D chip design meant to prevent power leaks. Major players like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics use FinFET technology across their process nodes, while Guangzhou has promoted FD-SOI to foster a unique semiconductor industry in the region.

Ye Tianchun has described FD-SOI as a "second track" for the Greater Bay Area's chip sector. The company is also deeply connected to Guangzhou's broader FD-SOI initiatives, with the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Institute of Integrated Circuit and System Application, established in 2019 and directed by Ye, focusing on FD-SOI processes, devices, and materials.

Public updates on this institute's progress remain scarce. SDIC Venture Capital, which lists SOI Micro among its portfolio, revealed that the company has developed a process design kit and is collaborating with Wuhan-based foundry XMC on a production line. The investment firm stated that SOI Micro aims for small-volume production in 2025 and has secured contracts with several chip-design companies, though they did not confirm whether these production targets were met.