Led by Big Fund, Xiaomi and others, SmartSens Technology completes a new round of financing of approximately RMB 1.5 billion

Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. officially announced the completion of a new round of financing of nearly 1.5 billion yuan. This round of financing was led by the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Xiaomi Industrial Investment Fund, CMB International and CMB Telecom Fund, and jointly invested by Wingtech Technology, Transsion Holdings, SMIC, China Internet Investment Fund and other industrial and strategic investors, well-known investment institutions Sequoia Capital China Fund, Haitong Capital and several other active private equity investment institutions, and several existing shareholders such as Guangyuan Capital and Lenovo Capital continued to increase their investment.

Since its establishment in 2011, SmartSens has become the world's leading CMOS image sensor chip design company, with applications in security monitoring, machine vision, automotive imaging and consumer electronics. Relying on excellent product performance, it has been the leader in CIS security shipments for many years; at the same time, with its cutting-edge innovative technology, it has become a market leader in the AI ​​video field.

Since its inception, SmartSens has focused on independent innovation and research and development of cutting-edge visual imaging technologies, and has won the favor of many first-line customers with its outstanding super-starlight-level night vision full-color imaging technology, Stack BSI's global exposure technology, single-frame HDR technology, near-infrared enhancement and many other top technological achievements in the industry.

This round of financing will help SmartSens increase its investment in R&D and innovation, maintain its technological innovation advantages in independent research and development of image sensors, and build a world-class chip design team, thereby creating higher technological innovation value for the domestic semiconductor industry and becoming a trustworthy global leader in the field of image sensors. 

Dr. Xu Chen, Founder and Chairman of SmartSens, said: "We are very grateful to investors for recognizing SmartSens' strategic direction and growth potential. SmartSens will continue to build more advanced image sensor chip products for various application fields based on technological innovation and driven by customer demand. We will further deepen cooperation with upstream and downstream industry chains, serve customers in an all-round way, and provide customers with more powerful chip-level technology support in the future era of artificial intelligence and big data."

Sun Changxu, senior partner of Xiaomi Industrial Investment Fund, said: "Mr. Lei once said: 'Xiaomi has always been very optimistic about AIoT. We believe that 5G+AIoT is the super Internet of the future. In the 5G era, AIoT will soon be everywhere.' Xiaomi's long-term optimism about AIoT has made us continue to look for excellent partners to work together. SmartSens has advantages in technology, team, and focus to become a leader in the field of smart imaging. This strategic alliance with SmartSens Technology, we hope that both parties will jointly develop more cutting-edge technologies in the industry and bring better product solutions to the entire smart imaging industry."

Lian Suping, member of the Management Committee of CMB International, said: "This investment in SmartSens is another strategic move by CMB International and CMB Telecom Fund in the high-tech field, focusing on the huge future development space of image sensors. In recent years, SmartSens has achieved many breakthroughs in image sensor technology and has continuously launched a number of world-class products and innovative technologies. At the same time, SmartSens' market growth has also been extremely rapid, making it a representative of innovative companies in China that have both independent R&D and innovation capabilities and competitiveness comparable to international first-line products."

Chairman's Office of Wingtech Technology: "China's semiconductor industry is experiencing an unprecedented explosive growth and is in urgent need of in-depth exploration, integration and optimization. Relying on the rich industry experience of the SmartSens team, as well as its foresight and innovation in intelligent imaging, Wingtech Technology believes that while organically combining artificial intelligence and imaging technology, it will promote the prosperity and development of China's semiconductor industry, which has far-reaching social significance."

Zhang Chao, General Manager of Investment Department II of China Internet Investment Fund, said: "With the continuous development of China's Internet applications, we see that more and more application scenarios require image sensors, especially intelligent CIS. SmartSens is one of the few top CIS chip companies in China with comprehensive competitiveness. It has industry-leading technology-driven innovation capabilities, focused industry strategies and efficient execution. We hope to help SmartSens build a wider bridge between Internet applications and jointly paint a bright future for the strategy of building a strong cyber power."

Sun Qian, partner of Sequoia Capital China, said: "The chip industry is the focus of serving the real economy. In the field of image sensors, we are delighted to see that SmartSens has leading technology, deep know-how and a founder and team with strong execution capabilities. They have been committed to providing high-quality video solutions to customers from all walks of life and will further promote the vigorous development of the industry."

He Ling, CEO of Everbright Capital, said: "Everbright Capital has been increasing its holdings since its early investment in SmartSens. The continued investment by our newly established RMB fund Everbright Innovation is based on our trust and recognition of SmartSens' technological strength and company development. SmartSens has a strong scientific research and innovation team and a management team with rich decision-making experience. We are full of confidence in its future prospects and hope to work with it to expand the future of artificial intelligence and high-end smart manufacturing."