Optics chipmaker Huayi Yingfei raises $45M Series A
What's the deal? Huayi Yingfei Optoelectronic Technology, a Beijing-based high-end optoelectronic chipmaker, has raised US$41.3M in a Series A round. Guoxin FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Huakong FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → co-led, with participation from Shenzhen Capital Group, two Beijing municipal industry funds, BOC CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Yizhuang State-owned Investment, and others. Existing backers Zhongguancun Capital, CMB International CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Xinrongbang CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → added to their stakes.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2019, the company draws its core technology from Tsinghua University's integrated optoelectronics lab and spans material epitaxy, chip fabrication, and packaging and testing. It makes high-power lasers, high-speed photodetectors, and thin-film lithium niobate modulators for data centres and high-speed optical interconnects.
Why now? AI data centres are driving demand for higher-bandwidth, lower-power optical links, pushing module makers toward 800G, 1.6T, and faster products. That raises pressure on the supply chain to deliver key components such as high-speed lasers and detectors.
The round will fund chip research, team expansion, and market development, with a focus on moving products toward mass production.
By the numbers: The deal sits in the 92nd percentile by size among 358 Series A rounds in China's semiconductor sector over the trailing 48 months — a large raise for the stage.
What could go wrong? The company's flagship products, including its high-power CW-DFB lasers and 200G photodetectors, remain in the customer sampling and validation stage. The money mainly supports the shift from research to volume production, not proof of commercial traction. Yield, delivery capacity, and conversion of validation into orders are the metrics to watch.
The signal: The backing — spanning central state-owned funds, local government guidance funds, and leading venture firms — reflects China's push to localise the upstream of its optical interconnect supply chain as AI compute infrastructure expands. For now, it is a promising but execution-heavy early bet.
Read more: shangdaovc.cn
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