The startup’s innovations are mostly used in 5G telecommunication, and it has built a global network of partnerships on the back of its strengths in this regard.
Epicmems (Chinese: 开元通信), a 5G RF chips developer for the communication industry, bagged hundreds of millions of CNY from its Series A+ round of financing on April 24, led by Hongtu Zhanlu Equity, with participation by Foxconn Industrial Internet, Guang Si Da, Oriental Fortune Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia, KIP Capital, and Oriza Holdings.
Existing shareholders IDG Capital, Shunwei Capital, Qinhe Capital and Hua Capital also participated in the round.
Jia Bin, chairman of Epicmems, said that after the completion of the Series A+ round of financing, Epicmems will increase investment to further enhance its leading position in domestic BAW filters, and accelerate the progress in creating module products.
Epicmems is a chip company focusing on RF front-end solutions. The company is headquartered in Xiamen City of southeastern China’s Fujian Province, and currently has an operation center in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, and sales and customer support centers in Shenzhen, Xi'an and Beijing.
The company has the most complete series of BAW filter products in China’s mainland, and has unique advantages in RF modular technology. It is the only company in mainland China with full coverage of RF technology.
Epicmems has been supplying its mass-produced filter products to six of the world’s top 10 mobile phone makers. Its product “Sili-BAW” has achieved mass-production for 70 clients.
Zhao Zhanxiang, a partner and CTO of Winsoul Capital, told EqualOcean that venture capital agencies' future investment will focus on hard technologies including digital management, green energy and healthcare.
In terms of hard technology, smartphone is the biggest market for semiconductors. The market demand for RF chips will reach USD 33 billion in 2023 due to the popularization of 5G phones.
Filter chip has the biggest market share among RF chips. BAW filter chips are a market with few contenders, and it is also the biggest and a fast-expanding segment within the RF chip industry, Zhao said.