It has just been established less than two years ago and delivered two types of gluing and developing equipment for semiconductor front and back models, completing the stage that other teams need to reach in 5 years or even longer, and at the same time has successively gained the attention of the capital market.
A track with a very low localization rate
A small chip, before becoming a complete product and entering the market in a packaging box, needs to go through thousands of complicated processes, and each process can be independently extended into a subdivision track because of its super high difficulty.
Gluing and developing equipment is one of the most important tracks. In the lithography process, the gluing and developing equipment is used as the input (photoresist coating before exposure) and output (development of the pattern after exposure) equipment of the lithography machine, and the wafer is transmitted and processed between various process modules through the manipulator, so as to complete the photoresist coating, curing, development, and film hardening of the wafer. It is the only core process equipment that works in-line with the lithography machine, and it is an indispensable key step in the process of “carving” circuit diagrams with light.
Demonstration of the gluing and developing process.
However, the technical threshold of the gluing and developing industry is extremely high, and more than 90% of the market share in the industry is occupied by foreign manufacturers, especially in the high-end 12-inch field, which has not yet completed the real domestic substitution, and domestic substitution is imminent.
How to break the game? In 2022, Huang Xianfei, who has 15 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, came up with some ideas. In Huang Xianfei’s view, the semiconductor industry is a typical talent, capital, and technology-intensive industry, and if these resource advantages can be gathered, it will definitely be able to break through.
Four-person entrepreneurial “Friends”
Focusing on the topic of “talent”, Huang Xianfei coincided with three other old friends who had known each other for many years at that time. “In my previous work, I have met Huang Zhenlong, Guo Guangzhu and Chen Zhuoming, some of whom are technical ‘experts’ and some are sales ‘champions’, all of whom are seniors with rich business experience and industry ecological chain resources in this field.” Speaking of the team, Huang Xianfei is very proud.
Huang Zhenlong, chairman and CTO, is the technical director of the Huangguang District of the 8-inch advanced wafer processing plant and the first 12-inch wafer processing plant in China, and is very familiar with different types and stages of foreign gluing and developing equipment, and at the same time can examine the advantages and disadvantages of the product from the perspective of users. He has been focusing on the design concept and technology accumulation of gluing and developing equipment for many years, and has always wanted to make a truly localized gluing and developing equipment to hand over a concrete answer to his product dream.
Dr. Chan Cheuk-ming is a veteran of the semiconductor industry, with decades of experience as the process leader of etching equipment from several leading manufacturers, as well as rich supply chain resources.
Guo Guangzhu is an equipment engineer, and later transformed into equipment agent sales, he has more than 20 years of experience in the sales of semiconductor process equipment, and is very familiar with the customer portrait and needs of equipment.
Group photo of the four founders, from left to right, they are Huang Zhenlong, Huang Xianfei, Guo Guangzhu, and Chen Zhuoming.
Huang Xianfei said: “We have known each other for many years, and our old friends, our relationship roles often change, but what remains unchanged is our trust along the way and our original intention to pursue our dreams on the road of domestic substitution of semiconductors.” The establishment of a company requires technology, management, sales, supply and other capabilities, the four of us just gathered a complete organization, complementary advantages of the entrepreneurial team, it is time to do something more meaningful to really contribute to the development of the domestic semiconductor industry. The establishment of Mairuijie and the highest level of domestic gluing developer is our common pursuit! ”
At the end of 2022, after some choice, four old friends decided to come to Jiangbei New Area and establish Mairuijie, a company focusing on the domestic substitution of semiconductor process equipment such as gluing and development, etching.
A number of domestic rookies that break the market monopoly
After more than a year of development, as judged by the team, with the solid technical reserve foundation of the four founders and the firm entrepreneurial determination of the officers, the company quickly entered the right track, and successively “bore fruit” in the two markets of product orders and financing.
Schematic diagram of the products delivered by Myregate.
At the beginning of this year, the company completed the Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan, expanding the operational strength of the next stage of marketing, R&D and manufacturing. With the help of capital, the company has recently successfully delivered the first 12-inch advanced packaging gluing and developing machine, and the prototype of the etching equipment is about to be delivered.
After crossing multiple development steps in a row, just recently, there was good news from Myrej. “We are negotiating an order for a higher-end gluing and developing equipment, which is a benchmark for the current world-class level of instruments, if the smooth production and delivery, it will indicate that the company’s initial establishment of the ‘domestic substitution’ goal, really began to land.” Huang Xianfei said.