Chinese chip design business Unisoc Technologies secured $552.2 million in equity funding as Beijing seeks semiconductor self-sufficiency to boost local economy.
According to sources, the sale involved Chinese state investment platforms, financial institutions, securities businesses, and private capital investors, the China Securities Journal said on Monday. The state-owned Xinhua News Agency publishes the national financial news platform.
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The article says Unisoc concluded this equity financing with board clearance to raise funds from Shanghai and Beijing governmental investment platforms.
The government-controlled insurer People’s Insurance Company of China, subsidiaries of ICBC and Bank of Communications, brokerage firms CSC Financial and Guotai Junan Securities, and PICC Capital Equity Investment are other investors.
This equity financing comes as China and the US are competing for tech supremacy, and Washington has imposed export controls restricting Chinese businesses from accessing US chipmaking tools, targeting advanced chips over national security concerns.
Unisoc is a major supplier of smartphone application processors, which interpret commands, calculate, and manage the system. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Statista rated the Chinese company fourth internationally with a market share of 13%, after Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Apple.
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It also sells radio frequency chips, AI chipsets, and other communication, computer, and control processors. According to its website, Unisoc employs over 5,500 individuals and conducts field tests in 130 countries for Transsion Holdings, Realme, and Lenovo-owned Motorola.
According to the Shanghai-based company’s official WeChat account, board secretary Jia Shaoxu announced an equity financing round to improve its technology and product competitiveness in February 2023 at a company event.
A $8.3 billion cash transaction to pay off Tsinghua Unigroup loans was part of the six-month strategic reorganisation. Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics, a publicly traded IC maker, and Tsinghua Unisplendour, an IT services provider, are other important subsidiaries.
The company earned about $1.9 billion in 2022, up 20% YoY. It reported $1.6 billion in revenue for 2021, up 78% from the year before.
Unisoc struck a credit line agreement with five Chinese commercial banks three months earlier to support 5G development. Multiple Chinese media sources said the deal gave it a $441.8 million credit line.
About Unisoc Technologies
Semiconductor business Unisoc Technologies Co., Ltd. designs, develops, and markets smartphone and feature phone chipset platforms.
