The new round of financing was led by Delian Capital. Existing backer Joy Capital also took part.
A lemon against the yellow background. Image credit: Markus Spiske/Pexels
Lemon Photonics (柠檬光子) has carried out a Series A+ funding round, grabbing CNY 50 million (USD 7.1 million) from Delian Capital (德联资本) and Joy Capital (愉悦资本).
A year ago, the firm raised an undisclosed amount in the Series A round from Joy Capital, which is known for throwing money at Luckin Coffee (LK:NASDAQ), NIO (NIO:NYSE) and Mobike.
Since the Shenzhen-based company was founded last year, it has been involved in the design and production of various laser chips. The firm develops optical modules and also provides its clients with solutions for optical engines. According to its official website, three kinds of direct diode lasers (DDL) are offered for sale thus far. Lemon has expanded into a medium-sized enterprise with over 300 employees, according to investment news portal ITjuzi.
"Lemon Photonics not only has the world's leading technology and production experience of existing types of laser chips but also successfully develops its own unique models of laser chips and modules," said Dr. Fang Hong, vice president of Delian Capital, which was the lead investor in this round.
During the presentation at the roadshow, Lemon's executives pointed out that the money obtained will mainly be used for market expansion, product development, and R&D.
"Semiconductor industry supply chain is now in the process of continuous improvement," said Dr. Xiao Yan, founder and CEO of Lemon. Chipmakers in China have been riding on the crest of a wave thanks to a slew of supportive government policies. Public capital that followed into this sector boosted investors' confidence. Lured by the growth prospects, private capital companies like Joy and Delian also have started making attempts to catch up.
Meanwhile, some of the country's chipmakers have made their public debut on the newly opened sci-tech board in Shanghai two weeks earlier. AMEC (688012:SH), Anji (688019:SH), Espressif Systems (688018:SH) and Montage (688008:SH) raised over CNY 6.12 billion (USD 867 million) with their IPOs last month. Combined market capitalization of the four reached CNY 149.25 billion (USD 21.15 billion) as of August 8.