China VC Weekly: Chip Packaging, EVs and Bone Grafting

In last week’s VC news, integrated circuit chip developer SJ Semiconductor has raised $300 million in a Series C round to expand R&D investment, Baidu– and Tencent-backed electric-vehicle (EV) maker WM Motor Holdings has raised a roughly equivalent sum in a recent funding round, an Israeli startup producing bioactive, coral-based bone graft materials announced that it has completed an investment round of $3.7 million to help expand its presence in China.

Integrated circuit chip developer startup SJ Semiconductor raises $300 million in Series C round

Integrated circuit chip developer SJ Semiconductor has raised $300 million in a Series C round of financing.

The funding was provided by Walden CEL, CCB PE, CCB Trust, Growth, Country Garden Venture, HTPE and GP Capital, together with participation from existing investors Oriza Rivertown, CCIC Capital and Oriza Hua Capital.

“The funding will help us to continue our growth plan, not only to expand bumping and WLCSP capacity, but also to increase R&D investments to expedite our patented SmartPoser, a multi-die 3D integration platform, for manufacturability, to serve multi-die integration needs from emerging markets like HPC and high-end consumer electronics,” said Dong Cui, Chairman and CEO of the company, in a statement.

The company reportedly went through a restructuring in June 2021.

The latest round of funding brings the firm’s total amount raised to $630 million, while its valuation has climbed to over $1 billion.

About SJ Semiconductor

SJ Semiconductor was founded in August 2014. SJ Semiconductor’s business scope includes pure-play middle-end-of-line (MEOL) semiconductor manufacturing services like applying bumps to ICs on 300mm-diameter wafers and wafer-level packaging. The company started 28nm and 14nm bumping for smartphone processor chips in 2016 and provides bumping for DRAM and PMICs.

Baidu-backed EV maker WM Motor raises $300 million, pushing against recent setbacks

Baidu– and Tencent-backed EV maker WM Motor Holdings has raised more than $300 million in a recent funding round, signaling continuing investor interest in the company.

Two Hong Kong-listed companies led WM Motor’s recent Series D1 funding round, including PCCW, which is backed by a son of local tycoon Li Ka-shing, and prominent property company Shun Tak Holdings.

The company announced that it was expecting to raise a new round last week.

“The estimated total amount financed during this round resembles the largest single investment from the private equity community towards the mainland China EV market during the past 12 months. We will launch our latest sedan model in mid-October, further revealing our technological strengths and bringing our smart user experience to the next level,” said Freeman H. Shen, Founder and CEO of WM Motor.

The proceeds of the rounds will be used for the development of autonomous driving and other smart technologies and products, as well as the expansion of its sales and service channels for users.

SEE ALSO: EV Maker WM Motor to Raise $300 Million in D1 Financing

About WM Motor

WM Motor was established in 2015, focusing on the mainstream market in which new vehicles range from 150,000 to 250,000 yuan (approximately $23,250 to $38,750). The EV maker operates two fully self-owned and highly automated factories in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province and Huanggang, Hubei Province. The loss-making company has been hampered by setbacks, including a stalled STAR Market listing and a vehicle recall over battery-related fire hazards.

Israeli bioactive bone graft material maker CoreBone raises $3.7 million to expand its presence in China

CoreBone, a startup focused on producing bioactive, coral-based bone graft materials, announced that it has completed an investment round worth $3.7 million. The Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund (“GIBF”), which focuses on introducing Israeli medical technologies to the Chinese market, invested $3 million in CoreBone’s Chinese subsidiary. At the same time, the Trendlines Group and Agriline invested $700,000. The company plans to use the funds for extending CoreBone’s commercial global presence, primarily in China, the world’s fastest growing market.

“CoreBone’s Chinese subsidiary started in the technological incubator that our group is managing in Guangzhou according to the principles of the renowned Israeli incubation system. The current subsequent investment by our fund is therefore another great example for our unique success in bringing Israeli companies to China, while protecting their IP and maintaining their own control and management over the Chinese subsidiary. During the incubation period, we had a chance to work closely with CoreBone’s team and to make significant progress towards Chinese regulatory approval for its unique products. We are confident that CoreBone will be successful in fulfilling the great unmet medical need it is targeting, partly by our unique capability to perform clinical trials in China,” said Prof. Shlomo Noy, GIBF’s Managing Partner and Chief Medical Officer.

About CoreBone

CoreBone develops and sells bioactive bone graft material for dental and orthopedic indications. It is the only company that uses cultured coral for bone grafting. Corals are grown on Moshav Ein Yahav in the south of Israel, in a closed, controlled aquatic (aquarium) system using proprietary technology and laboratory-made sea water enriched with bioactive nutrients and CoreBone’s own coral breeding source.