In recent years, China’s demand for semiconductor packaging equipment has surged, driven by the accelerated localization of high-end chip production. According to the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), this market is growing at an annual rate of approximately 10%, with an estimated market size of around RMB 300 billion (USD 41 billion) in 2022.
Advanced technologies such as system-in-package (SiP) and 3D packaging demonstrate significant potential, and the share of packaging and testing equipment in the semiconductor equipment industry is gradually increasing. However, due to the dominance of foreign companies like ASM and Besi, the domestic production rate of semiconductor packaging and testing equipment is only about 10%.
Founded in 2019 and based in Shenzhen, Microview is a notable Chinese player in the high-precision chip packaging equipment industry. The company comprises team members with over two decades of industry experience, many of them hailing from leading international firms, which has helped the company rise in prominence.
The key to domesticating packaging equipment lies in the development of high-precision, high-speed, and stable die-bonding machinery. Microview addresses this challenge with its in-house core technologies, including high-precision chip packaging processes, high-precision mechanical control platforms, machine vision and algorithms, and high-precision process modules. Over 60% of the company’s workforce is devoted to R&D, with R&D expenses exceeding 50% of its total expenditure in recent years.
Microview’s turnaround time is also relatively short, requiring 45–60 days on average to progress from order to shipment. During peak order periods, this delivery period stretches at most to 2–3 months, quicker than the industry average.
In the past three years, Microview has been collaborating with significant downstream clients, facilitating process development and validation, and even establishing full-scale production lines using its own equipment. In Q2 this year, it managed to introduce its high-precision packaging machinery to the American and European markets after undergoing a rigorous year-long verification process.
According to Lei Weizhuang, CEO of Microview, the company’s vision is to become an industry leader in both domestic and international markets. Its focus for the foreseeable future remains on high-precision complex process technologies, though it plans to expand into the development of advanced packaging equipment as well, such as wafer-level packaging devices, and creating domestically-produced high-end solutions that meet global standards.
Microview recently raised close to RMB 100 million (USD 13.6 million) of fresh funding in a Series A+ funding round led by Haitong Capital. The round also saw participation from Share Capital, while Profound Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor. The company plans to allocate the funds toward technology R&D and market expansion.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Chi Meng for 36Kr.