The 15th China International Nanotechnology Industry Expo (referred to as “NanoChina”) has successfully concluded amid widespread anticipation. This year’s event featured one keynote speech, 15 parallel forums, 605 cutting-edge presentations, one innovation and entrepreneurship competition, and three supply-and-demand matchmaking sessions. The expo brought together over 150 national-level talents and more than 500 top experts from universities, research institutes, and enterprises both at home and abroad. With an exhibition area of 25,000 square meters, the event attracted over 350 leading global companies and institutions, showcasing more than 2,400 of the latest technological products and innovative applications in the global nanotechnology field. Over the three-day period, the total number of attendees reached nearly 27,500, making this year’s expo the largest in its history and elevating its influence to new heights.

On the occasion of this grand event, Xin Shiyee conducted exclusive interviews with several outstanding companies in China’s micro- and nano-manufacturing industry chain, and specially prepared a featured report. This article is an exclusive interview by Xin Shiyee. Professor Wu Xiangfang, Co-founder, Director, and Chief Technical Advisor of Pengcheng Semiconductor Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Pengcheng Semiconductor”) The authentic record.

About Pengcheng Semiconductor

Pengcheng Semiconductor was co-founded by an engineering team with over 20 years of experience in semiconductor equipment R&D. As a benchmark enterprise for deep integration of industry, academia, and research, the company leverages the advanced R&D platform and testing technology resources of Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), focusing on micro- and nano-technologies as well as high-end precision manufacturing. It has established a comprehensive R&D system covering the entire semiconductor value chain—from materials and processes to equipment. The company’s core technologies encompass: Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) / Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Process equipment R&D—self-developed. Magnetron Sputtering Coating Machine 、 Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) Core products such as equipment, and achieve breakthroughs in the field of semiconductor materials.

Wu Xiangfang, co-founder of the company, was formerly a researcher at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) and a professor at the Center for Micro- and Nano-Electronics Technologies and Systems at Southern University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on process studies and the R&D and manufacturing of supporting process equipment for substrate materials and epitaxial wafers used in second-generation and third-generation semiconductors. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Institute of Automation in Shenyang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on artificial intelligence and robotics. He participated in the National Seventh Five-Year Plan Key Research Project and contributed to the construction of the National Robotics Demonstration Base and the National Key Laboratory of Robotics. He is also a member of the expert committee of several industry associations.

Please provide an overview of the company’s basic information.

Pengcheng Semiconductor is a high-tech enterprise founded and led by Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). It was registered and established in Shenzhen in September 2021. The company aims to address the deep-rooted technological challenges and pain points faced by Shenzhen’s local industries, while also responding to the nation’s strategic need for self-reliance and controllability in critical sectors. As such, it carries a certain political mission.

The company’s core team is composed of doctoral researchers and professors from the key laboratory at Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Campus, as well as seasoned engineers from the industry. The team focuses on micro- and nano-technologies and atomic-level manufacturing, with business spanning the broader semiconductor industry. Currently, the company has grown into a team of over 80 members. In 2024, the order value reached 40 million yuan; in 2025, it is expected to reach around 60 million yuan, and in 2026, it is projected to exceed 100 million yuan.

What are the company’s core technologies and products?

The company’s core technology is: Nanometer- and Atomic-Scale Manufacturing This technology stems from the team’s more than 20 years of accumulated expertise dating back to 2003. Based on this foundation, the company has built a comprehensive, integrated industrial chain spanning “materials—devices—equipment,” giving it the characteristics of a leading player in the chain. The company not only independently develops and manufactures the micro- and nano-scale equipment required for its operations but also produces the corresponding materials and devices. Due to international technological blockades, all of the company’s key equipment and processes have achieved 100% domestic production, ensuring the company’s technological independence and controllability.

The company’s business model has evolved from being merely a supplier of equipment or materials to becoming a “technology service provider.” The company brings along both products and technology, We provide customers with customized solutions and high-level technical services, leveraging nanoscale and atomic-level manufacturing combined with multidisciplinary cross-discipline integration to empower industries across the board. The primary customer segments include:

1. Military industrial enterprise Co-develop high-precision, cutting-edge technology products.

2. Listed companies upstream and downstream in the industrial chain Provides core materials, devices, or process services.

3. National-level research institutions Such as national key laboratories, which support cutting-edge innovative research.

4. High-level talent team Such as Yangtze River Scholars and overseas returnees, who provide robust industrial and technological support for the commercialization of their research achievements.

As a startup, how has Pengcheng Semiconductor achieved rapid growth despite limited capital?

In the early stages of its establishment, the company secured only 15 million yuan in angel funding from private equity funds. Of this amount, 1 million yuan was allocated to support the university’s laboratory, leaving the company with a total of 14 million yuan in usable funds. With such limited resources, the company adopted a survival and growth strategy that combines the “Blue Ocean Strategy” with a “Special Forces Model.”

1. Strategic Level: Seize the “Blue Ocean” and Choose Projects that offer something “unique to me” or possess transcendent attributes.

• Avoid Red Ocean Competition: Faced with industry giants that are well-capitalized and have high market shares, the company has chosen not to engage in homogeneous competition in mature markets.
• Focus on “what others don’t have” and strive for excellence: Strategically prioritize niche areas that major players have yet to enter or in which they lack sufficient capabilities, or aim to achieve breakthroughs based on existing technologies. Only when a particular field becomes “something only we can do” will customers be compelled to choose us, thereby sidestepping the disadvantages of low brand and market recognition.
• Competing through dimensional upgrade: The company positions itself as a “technology service provider” rather than a “supporting supplier.” For example, when a customer requires a specific component that no equipment vendor can currently meet, , the company relies on Leveraging technological expertise, we not only provide equipment but also offer a comprehensive process solution, directly delivering qualified products. This “service”-oriented approach goes beyond mere “manufacturing,” enabling the company to take the lead in the industrial chain and even integrate equipment from leading companies to complete projects.

2. Tactical Level: Build a “Special Forces Team” to Achieve Ultimate Efficiency

• Team Building: The company has extremely high expectations for its teams, demanding that members be “special forces operatives” who are highly versatile and possess expertise across multiple disciplines. Employees must master a wide range of skills—including mechanical, electrical, software, and process engineering—and demonstrate strong individual operational capabilities.
• Cost and Efficiency Control: By adopting a modular, standardized product design that is “plug-and-play,” we significantly reduce both the engineering costs and time required for on-site installation and commissioning. For example, our equipment typically requires only one “special operations team member” traveling for five days (including round-trip travel) to complete installation, acceptance testing, and training—while competitors may need to send two or three personnel and spend more than ten days on the job. This creates substantial advantages in terms of labor costs, travel expenses, and time savings, enabling us to turn a project that would otherwise be unprofitable into a high-margin business.
• Strict Selection and Elimination: Employees who fail to meet the “Special Forces” standards will undergo a six-month training program. If they still fail to meet the required standards after the training, they will be immediately dismissed. At the heart of team building is the creation of a corporate culture centered on “innovation, efficiency, and responsibility.”

The company was co-founded by the team from Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) and industry engineers. How did this “academia + industry” combination model achieve complementary advantages in its early stages? And what was the most critical breakthrough needed to move from a technology laboratory to industrial implementation?

Looking back, the fact that our startup has made it this far is actually a low-probability event.

Once a strategy goes wrong, defeat is inevitable. Even if the overall direction is right, a single tactical mistake along the way—leading to a break in cash flow—can cause you to falter and fall by the wayside. We started from a base of 14 million, without any major funding rounds, yet we’ve managed to stay on track without making any fatal errors—a fact that in itself is nothing short of fortunate. But even more important than that is the fact that we’ve found a path that truly works.

The company’s origins lie at the Shenzhen campus of Harbin Institute of Technology. Shenzhen provided funding to establish the campus, hoping that the university would not only produce academic papers but also help local industries tackle technical challenges. However, the reality is this: professors and businesses simply aren’t on the same wavelength.

Schools focus on papers, professional titles, and project completion; enterprises care about costs and delivery. Market returns. When languages don't match and goals differ, collaboration naturally becomes difficult to put into practice. Even “university-enterprise joint laboratories” often end up being merely a formality—money is spent, but no real progress is made. More critically, many industrial challenges aren't theoretical problems; they demand practical, hands-on expertise. For example, one company asked: “Our headphones have significant noise—could we design a circuit to reduce noise while maintaining high fidelity?” Such questions can’t be solved simply by publishing papers; they require deep, product-level engineering capabilities. Yet professors, with just a few graduate students and limited resources, lack the necessary experience. Feet—it’s really hard to catch.

So we came to realize a simple truth: Rather than expecting professors to understand businesses, it’s better for the professors themselves to roll up their sleeves and start running businesses.

So we simply decided to set up our own company—Pengcheng Micro-Nano. We’re not just going through the motions of a mere name change; instead, we’re genuinely developing products, actively exploring the market, and directly engaging with customers. We have to make money—we simply have to stay in business. In this process, our team has gradually developed a true industrial mindset: we now understand what cost control means, what rapid iteration entails, and what customer value really is. We’ve become both technically savvy and commercially astute, serving as the “translator” that bridges the gap between academia and industry.

Our model is crystal clear: We build our own “production” capabilities and establish a closed-loop system that integrates industry, academia, and research. Our technology starts in the lab, gets transformed into products by us, and after being validated in the market, feeds back into R&D—enabling us to serve even more businesses. We’re not an enterprise driven by political mandates; rather, we’re a profit-oriented company. It’s precisely because of this that we can keep investing steadily and continuously innovating.

Today, we’ve established a solid presence in the industry, serving numerous enterprises and earning recognition from the sector. This hasn’t been achieved through mere slogans—it’s been proven by our products, revenue performance, and ability to sustain ourselves. At its core, a business is all about profitability. Just because you want to make money doesn’t mean you’ll actually succeed—this tests the capabilities of your entire value chain: team, management, capital, and market. We’ve not only survived but have also begun to thrive. We’ve successfully navigated the path—from the lab all the way to industrial application.

What are the company’s talent development and management philosophies?

There are two main key points.

• Hands-on management: The core of human resources—“selecting the right people” and “developing talent”—must be personally overseen by the General Manager and the Executive Vice President; it cannot be delegated to the HR Manager. The true decision-makers must clearly understand what kind of people their teams need.
• “Warrior” Culture: Given the company’s current relatively small size, we’re currently only hiring mature talent aged 26 and above. We’re looking for employees who are self-reliant “warriors”—not individuals who need to be “cared for.” Our corporate culture emphasizes proactivity.

What unique strategies does the company have for market development?

The company’s market strategy is built on strong technological confidence and clear business logic.

• Precise Targeting: The company deeply recognizes that for a business to grow, it must secure large orders from leading companies in specific application segments. Therefore, our market development efforts are focused on top-tier clients within the industry.
• Strong Negotiating Power: Thanks to the irreplaceable nature of our technology, we wield considerable influence in business negotiations. For instance, when signing contracts worth over 20 million yuan, we typically demand a 65% down payment to cover our substantial R&D and construction costs. This requirement significantly exceeds industry norms—typically ranging from 20% to 30%—but through thorough technical justification and logical persuasion, we ultimately secured the client’s acceptance. In the very first contract, valued at 23.52 million yuan, the down payment alone reached 15.28 million yuan, ensuring absolute financial stability for the company.
• Rapid Scaling: Since officially launching its marketing campaign in July 2024, the company has secured orders exceeding 37 million yuan within just five months—from August through year-end—demonstrating the strong growth potential of its business model.

What are the company’s plans for future development?

The company’s development can be broadly divided into three stages.

• Financing Plan: The company’s current valuation is 300 million yuan, and we plan to raise 50 million yuan in funding, which will be used for infrastructure development, market expansion, and replenishing working capital. Sufficient working capital will enable the company to adopt more competitive business models, such as “deliver first, pay later,” further expanding our market reach.
• Strategic Layout: Adopt a “dual-location synergy” model. Shenzhen serves as the R&D center, responsible for exploring cutting-edge technologies, while Shenyang functions as the product design center and manufacturing base. Leveraging Shenyang’s advantages—lower labor costs, an abundance of multidisciplinary talent, and a strong industrial foundation—we will achieve cost control. The investment output of 14 million yuan in Shenyang is equivalent to the investment output of 25 million yuan in Shenzhen.
• Long-term vision: The company will evolve into a platform-based group corporation—“Pengcheng Semiconductor.” With its headquarters serving as the “chain leader,” it will, through... Capital operations (such as mergers and acquisitions) integrate resources and establish multiple specialized subsidiaries under its umbrella, each focusing on different niche areas (such as materials and equipment), thereby building a sustainable and innovative industrial ecosystem.

How do we view future technology trends?

Humanity is transitioning from the “silicon-based era” to the “carbon-based era.” Thanks to its exceptionally high thermal conductivity, diamond semiconductors are an ideal cooling material for addressing the challenges of high integration and high heat generation in AI chips and high-frequency communication devices. They are also the “ultimate semiconductor material,” possessing exceptional resistance to extreme environmental conditions, and thus boast a promising market outlook. The company has already begun making strategic investments and engaging in small-scale production in the diamond wafer sector.

In addition, long-endurance lightweight batteries and 3D printing in the low-altitude economy. high-quality metal/ceramic powders and the like, all of which... These are “opportunity points”—areas where current market demand is enormous but remains unmet. This is precisely where the allure of technological innovation lies: whoever can be the first to address these pain points will seize a huge market share.

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