The Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, backed by the municipal government, has expanded one of its three funds more than 11-fold, reports the South China Morning Post. The move aims to pump more capital into the city’s chip firms as part of China’s broader pursuit of tech self-reliance.
The third phase of the fund, also known as Shanghai IC Fund III, recently increased its registered capital by RMB 5.5 billion ($794 million) to RMB 6 billion, according to business registry database Aiqicha. It added two new equity investors, namely Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Leading IC Private Equity Investment Fund, which is set to inject RMB 4.5 billion and Pudong Venture Capital, owned by the district government of Pudong, which is contributing RMB 500 million.
The Shanghai IC Fund has invested in more than 20 local chip companies, including wafer foundries Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) and HLMC, which is a subsidiary of Hua Hong Group, as well as ACM Research Shanghai, a semiconductor cleaning tool manufacturer.