Hunan Province is witnessing the rise of a highly regarded super unicorn company. A company named CRRC Times Semiconductor Co., Ltd. recently announced the completion of a capital injection of 4.3278 billion RMB, attracting 26 strategic investors and an employee shareholding platform to participate. The competition for this round of financing was exceptionally fierce, drawing interest from over 100 potential investors. Ultimately, those who became investors in the company included national funds, local state-owned assets, professional funds focusing on semiconductors, and funds associated with securities firms.

CRRC Times Semiconductor has a strong industrial foundation in Zhuzhou, Hunan. It is one of the few domestic IDM model companies that possess technologies for high-power thyristors, IGCT, IGBT, and SiC devices and their components, forming a complete industry chain from chips to devices to systems.

In this round of funding, the new largest shareholder has become Zhuzhou National Investment & Innovation, which shares the same city with CRRC Times Semiconductor headquarters. They contributed 620 million RMB to become the third largest shareholder of the company. Zhuzhou National Investment & Innovation is an important state-owned platform in Zhuzhou City, established in 2015, and has successfully driven several projects to list on the Sci-Tech innovation board and the Growth Enterprise Market.

Following is Yixing Industry Fund for Dynamically Emerging Industries, which invested 400 million RMB and became the fourth-largest shareholder of CRRC Times Semiconductor. The association between CRRC Times Semiconductor and Yixing started from an industrialization project for medium and low voltage power devices, which is expected to go into production within the year with a total investment exceeding ten billion.

Through this round of financing, CRRC Times Semiconductor not only introduced funds but more importantly, took this opportunity to bring in upstream and downstream partners in the industry chain, as well as resources from related industry funds, aiming to achieve deep integration and synergistic development in terms of industry and business.

The historical city of Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, is quietly emerging as a significant force in the semiconductor industry. Zhuzhou's research and development in the field of electric locomotives has deep roots, dating back to the CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Limited in the 1960s. Not only was the first electric locomotive of New China born here, but also essential expertise and talent for the development of the national electric locomotive's electrical systems have been cultivated.

The traction electric drive system, being the heart of electric locomotives, includes a critical component called IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor). Despite domestic challenges with this technology and the need to import costly IGBT products from abroad each year, CRRC Zhuzhou did not stop its pursuit of exploration and advancement, initiating an innovative "IGBT Project Battle."

After relentless efforts, CRRC Times Electric came into existence in 2005, committed to closing the gap with the world's advanced level through technology transfer and international cooperation. The results quickly materialized, and in 2008, the acquisition of Dynex Semiconductor Co., Ltd. in the UK marked the first time a Chinese rail transit equipment enterprise entered the international M&A stage.

After many years of deep cultivation, CRRC Times Electric has established the first domestic 8-inch IGBT chip production line. At the same time, the company has continuously increased its investment in fields such as electric grid high voltage IGBT and rail transit. By 2017, the company officially entered the automotive sector. As of January 2019, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has become an integrated design manufacturing (IDM) company that masters high-end semiconductor technology.

Although Zhuzhou is not as eye-catching as some big cities, it has gradually shown its potential in the semiconductor industry thanks to the rapid growth of CRRC Times Semiconductor. The city has already achieved a leading market share in multiple fields such as the electric grid, rail transit, and wind power, and is also at the forefront in new fields like new energy vehicles and photovoltaics.

Today, power semiconductor devices are becoming the core of the combination of traditional industries and emerging industries, and Zhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor has clearly seized this trend. According to analysis and forecasts by Yole, the global power semiconductor market size will see significant growth by 2025. Meanwhile, Zhuzhou, with its four world-class industrial clusters, and its strength on par with the provincial capital Changsha in the provincial industrial cluster competition, is creating a new identity for itself in China's and even the world's semiconductor industry.

Zhuzhou has achieved remarkable success in the rail transit equipment and small and medium-sized aero-engine industries, becoming a leader in these fields. As a city located at a transportation hub, Zhuzhou has enjoyed a prominent reputation since the last century. Currently, the scale of Zhuzhou’s rail transit equipment industry has exceeded 140 billion yuan, with nearly 400 related companies, leading the world in industry concentration.

There is a vivid saying in Zhuzhou: "In Zhuzhou, during the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you can gather all the tens of thousands of parts needed to manufacture a locomotive within a 5km radius; within 20 minutes, the world's top experts in the rail transit equipment industry can be assembled."

Furthermore, Zhuzhou also holds a pivotal position in the small and medium-sized aero-engine industry. It is not only the birthplace of the first aero engine in New China but also has built a complete system for R&D, design, testing, and manufacturing of small and medium-sized aero engines, with a series of leading enterprises and research institutes. Zhuzhou has become the largest base for the research and production of small and medium-sized aero engines in the country, with a market share of up to 90%, meaning that 9 out of every 10 small and medium-sized aero engines in the country come from Zhuzhou.

Zhuzhou is also known as the "rare metal materials base" and the largest hard alloy production base in Asia, home to more than 240 advanced hard material production enterprises, forming the largest advanced hard material industrial cluster in the country. In recent years, Zhuzhou's polymer new materials industry has been flourishing, attracting a lot of investment. Xiaomi and several venture capital firms have joined the investment lineup. Today, the polymer new materials and fine chemical industry have become a new growth point for Zhuzhou's industry.

In terms of funding, the Zhuzhou Advanced Industrial Clusters Development Mother Fund has been established, with an initial scale reaching 5 billion yuan. This fund is mainly invested in fields such as rail transit, aero power, advanced hard materials, electronic information, and new energy, aiming to strengthen the traditional industry and promote the development of emerging industries.

Zhuzhou, transforming from an old industrial base into the "Power Valley of China," once again proves the significance of industrial prosperity for urban development. Each city is engaged in this crucial battle of industrial change, one that is pivotal to the city's fate, striving not to be left behind.