By Li Panpan

GaN, a representative of third-generation semiconductor materials, is ushering in more investment cases in China, with Innosecco (英诺赛科) winning nearly RMB3 billion ($444.26 million) in the first half of 2022, reported JW Insights.

With significant advantages of fast speed and low losses in switching, GaN technology brings more applications requiring high switching frequency in power electronics, radio frequency, and optoelectronics, such as fast chargers in the consumer electronics market. It has attracted more attention in the Chinese investment community. 

Starting from the second half of 2020, financing cases in the third-generation semiconductor field have shown a rapid growth trend, with strong market demand in new energy vehicles, industrial interconnection, 5G communications, consumer electronics, and other fields in 2021. 

There were more than 20 and 19 financing cases in GaN-related cases in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022 respectively. The total financing amounted to more than RMB5.7 billion ($844.09 million) and RMB11.8 billion ($1.75 billion). 

The biggest winners were Innosecco with its D round of nearly RMB3 billion ($444.26 million) in the first half of 2022 and GTA Semiconductor (积塔半导体) with RMB8 billion ($1.18 billion) in the second half of 2021 respectively.

In the first half of 2022, the number of GaN-related funding cases was 7, with Innosecco topping them in financing amount, followed by Enkris Semiconductor (晶湛半导体) and Novoshine Semiconductor (元旭半导体)

In September 2019, OPPO became the first manufacturer in the world to introduce GaN technology into mobile phone chargers. It released the first GaN charger, SuperVOOC2.0, with a charging power of 65W. 

Yole data shows that the GaN device market grow at a compound annual growth rate of 59%, from $126 million in 2021 to $2 billion in 2027. 

Consumer markets such as charging heads also drive the market size of GaN power electronic devices in the Chinese market. CASA Research data shows that the Chinese PD fast-charging GaN power electronic device market will grow from RMB150 million ($22.22 million) in 2020 to more than RMB4 billion ($592.45 million) by 2025, with an average annual compound growth rate of 97%.