Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited disclosed its 2025 annual report on the evening of March 12, revealing a full-year net profit of 2.059 billion yuan. This marks its official removal of the unprofitable company designation, making it the first enterprise to "graduate" from the Sci-Tech Innovation Board's Growth Layer. As the annual report season progresses, five other companies—BeiGene, Orbbec, InnoCare Pharma, Northcore Lifetech, and Jing-Jin Electric—are also set to successively remove their "U" suffix and exit the layer. These six companies operate in strategic emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, and new energy, signaling that the STAR Market's long-term cultivation of "hard-tech" enterprises is entering a phase of tangible results.
The growth trajectory of these first six "graduates" serves as a vivid example of Chinese tech companies transitioning from heavy R&D investment to commercial success. In their early development stages, each underwent periods of intensive research spending, achieving commercial scale through breakthroughs in core technologies, embodying the principle that success follows hardship.
Cambricon's transformation is particularly representative. As a benchmark for domestic AI chips, the company invested over 5.6 billion yuan in R&D from 2020 to 2024, continuously iterating its chip products. The explosion in demand for AI computing power in 2025 facilitated a shift in its business structure, moving from a primary focus on intelligent computing clusters to a leading role for its commercial cloud chip product line. This resulted in an annual net profit exceeding 2 billion yuan, positioning the company to potentially enter a self-sustaining phase.
In the innovative drug sector, BeiGene, after more than a decade of R&D, successfully brought its core product, Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), from the laboratory to the global market, establishing a leading global position in the BTK inhibitor field. In 2025, it achieved revenue of 38.205 billion yuan (a 40.4% year-on-year increase) and a net profit of 1.422 billion yuan, successfully turning a profit and validating the industry's "double-ten rule" for innovative drugs.
The other four companies have also reached significant operational turning points. Northcore Lifetech, a company that listed after the establishment of the Growth Layer, removed its "U" suffix in its first year of listing, rapidly gaining market share in cardiovascular diagnostic devices. InnoCare Pharma achieved profitability in the hematologic oncology field through a dual-drive strategy of drug sales and business development. Orbbec saw its business scale continue to rise as its 3D vision sensing technology penetrated embodied intelligence scenarios. Jing-Jin Electric, deeply focused on the new energy vehicle supply chain, experienced rapid sales growth following the launch of its core patented products.
Overall, companies in the Growth Layer are demonstrating positive development trends. Preliminary 2025 results indicate that the 39 companies in the layer are expected to report a combined revenue increase of 37% year-on-year, with their aggregate net loss significantly narrowing by 57%. This trend of rising revenue and shrinking losses validates the commercial potential of their core technologies. The total market capitalization of these 39 companies currently stands at 2 trillion yuan, reflecting market recognition of the long-term value of "hard-tech."
Since the inception of the STAR Market, 61 unprofitable companies have listed, with 22 having previously removed their "U" suffix. Adding these latest six will bring the total to 28, representing nearly half of such listings, with an average time to graduation of approximately 2.2 years. These "graduates" are projected to achieve combined revenue of 175.816 billion yuan and a net profit of 9.487 billion yuan in 2025, forming an important micro-foundation for the development of new quality productive forces.
The graduation of these first Growth Layer companies is underpinned by the synergistic effect of institutional innovation and technological innovation on the STAR Market. Over more than six years, the board has continuously expanded its inclusivity and refined its institutional offerings, precisely aligning with the growth patterns of tech companies and providing the capital support needed for "hard-tech" firms to navigate R&D cycles and achieve breakthroughs.
The "35 reform measures" introduced in June 2024 have been a key driver of corporate development. Innovations such as the criteria for identifying "asset-light, high R&D" companies in refinancing and staged payments for M&A transactions have directly addressed pain points like financing difficulties and slow integration for tech firms. Following the policy's implementation, 14 companies, including Cambricon, have applied for refinancing under these standards, seeking a total of over 35 billion yuan, which is accelerating the development of various chip and innovative drug projects.
In June 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) launched the "1+6" reform measures for the STAR Market, leading to the creation of the Growth Layer and further perfecting the full-cycle service system for tech enterprises. To date, seven companies, including Moore Threads, have newly registered and listed within the Growth Layer. Other implemented measures include the expansion of industries eligible for the fifth set of listing standards, the identification of sophisticated professional institutional investors, and listing guidance for commercial rocket companies. The acceptance of ChangXin Memory Technologies under the pre-review mechanism for IPOs demonstrates the continuing "testing ground" effect of these institutional innovations.
Reform experiences from the STAR Market are being rapidly replicated across the broader market. The CSRC Chairman recently stated that beneficial reform experiences from the STAR Market would be extended to the ChiNext board, including implementing a pre-review mechanism for IPOs of high-quality innovative companies, allowing eligible companies undergoing review to raise capital from existing shareholders, and optimizing IPO pricing mechanisms.
From the initial reform package to the subsequent "1+6" measures, a series of institutional innovations have provided crucial support for tech companies while using market-based mechanisms to identify those with genuine growth potential, achieving an organic unity of "cultivation" and "screening." Market observers note that the success of these first Growth Layer graduates demonstrates that patient capital market cultivation can foster the emergence of "hard-tech" forces capable of leading industrial transformation. As reforms deepen, the STAR Market will continue to serve as a vital bridge connecting technology and capital, providing solid support for more Chinese tech companies to break through technological barriers and advance into global markets.
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