Nanjing City-based AaltoSemi has raised 500 million yuan ($72.5 million) in a Series A1 round led by CTC Capital, a Chinese investment firm focused on the semiconductor industry.
The round saw the participation of several semiconductor-focused VC firms and funds, including SL Capital, a fund jointly formed by Legend Capital and South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group, as well as Lanhor Capital, and Teda Venture Capital.
State-affiliated Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Development Fund and Xingrui Capital also joined the round. The fresh capital will enable the firm to expand its manufacturing facilities, as well as ramp up its R&D efforts, according to a release published by CTC Capital on Monday.
Previous backers KQ Capital, Summitview Capital, and Gaorong Capital re-upped in the round, per the release.
Founded in May 2021, AaltoSemi engages in the R&D, testing, and manufacture of advanced IC substrates, a key ingredient to connect the chip and circuit board. The firm has recently commenced trial production, as the firm completed phase 1 construction of its factory.
The firm said it can reach an annual production of around 1.5 million pieces of advanced IC substrates, once phase 2 of the plant is completed. However, it did not disclose the target completion timeline for the plant.
China remains the world’s largest semiconductor market, as monthly sales of chips in the country stood at around $11 billion in February 2023, or 27.6% of the global sales, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). Despite that, the country saw a 34.2% drop in year-to-year sales, when it notched $16.7 billion in the same period last year, as macroeconomic headwinds continue to slow sales.