During the afternoon of September 8th, the STAR Market held its 2026 interim earnings briefing for the chip design sector. A total of 29 listed companies, including Wuxi Etek Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Etek Micro), Jiangsu Macro Micro Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Macro Micro), and Suzhou Oriental Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Oriental Semiconductor), participated in this event. Dozens of investors raised nearly 200 inquiries covering business development, AI-related operations, and R&D progress across the companies represented.
The industry continues to experience an upward cycle. In the first half of the year, rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, computing power, and electric vehicles drove sustained expansion in semiconductor demand, pushing industry momentum higher. According to Wind data, among the 74 listed companies in the STAR Market chip design sector—spanning digital chips, analog chips, and discrete devices—over 80% reported year-on-year revenue growth in the first half of the year, while approximately 70% achieved profitability.
Yu Tai Micro Electronics Co., Ltd. Chairman and General Manager Shi Qing noted that the company generated RMB 324 million in revenue for the first half of 2026, a 46.21% increase from the prior-year period. This growth was primarily driven by robust downstream demand, with product sales continuing to scale up in the networking and automotive sectors.
Notably, the rapid expansion of computing power demand has become a major engine for semiconductor market growth. At the briefing, investors focused heavily on how companies are positioning themselves around AI. Macro Micro's Chairman and General Manager Zhao Shanqi stated that the company has made substantial strides in the AI computing power space. During the reporting period, its GaN 650V 30mΩ chip passed customer certification for AI data center power supplies and is now entering the ramp-up phase. Additionally, the company has initiated collaboration with a leading North American power equipment customer in the AIDC field, with its solid-state transformer product already delivered for sampling. Zhao attributed the company's first-half revenue growth to rising demand from new energy vehicles, solar and wind storage, industrial control, and AI computing power.
Oriental Semiconductor's Chairman and General Manager Gong Yi explained that the company's products have entered the computing power server power supply market. Driven by ongoing downstream application demand, the server industry is entering a long-term high-growth phase. Massive data generation, transmission, and processing needs are fueling a new wave of data center construction and accelerating the transformation of traditional facilities. Looking ahead, the company plans to stay focused on emerging applications such as server power supplies and computing infrastructure, continuing its technology-driven innovation strategy, expanding market development efforts, and increasing its market share.
However, some companies cautioned that their AI-related businesses currently contribute a very small share of total revenue, with future sales volumes depending on customer demand and mass production timelines. Others not yet involved in AI said they would actively monitor and carefully evaluate related opportunities while continuing to step up R&D and innovation.
New product development was another key topic. The chip design industry is characterized by heavy R&D investment, with Wind data showing that more than half of STAR Market chip design companies have R&D expense ratios between 20% and 50%. In the first half of 2026, Etek Micro's R&D expense ratio stood at 23.75%. Chairman and General Manager Yuan Minmin stated that the company's R&D efforts are focused on power management and signal chain chips. During the period, the company broke ground on two new product categories: power chips for AI servers and AI storage, and micro-energy harvesting circuits, both of which are advancing toward commercialization.
Anhui XDLK Microsystem Corporation Director, General Manager, and Board Secretary Lin Ming told investors that the company is fully accelerating development of new products targeting emerging fields such as humanoid robots, autonomous driving, and unmanned equipment. These products are currently in the R&D and validation phase. Due to the high complexity and long development cycles, mass production timing will depend on the progress of validation and customer adoption, and uncertainties remain.
On the question of how to measure R&D efficiency given the high investment intensity, Joulwatt Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager and Board Secretary Ma Wenwen explained that efficiency can be assessed from two angles. First, output efficiency: in the first half of 2026, the company had over 4,200 product models in active sale, a significant increase year-on-year, with more than 5,000 models under development as of the interim report disclosure date. Second, productization results: the company has made positive progress in mass production ramps and customer validation, accelerating its productization process. Currently, products in industrial applications, automotive electronics, and computing and storage are at various stages of mass production introduction or customer validation, with some models already shipping in volume to AI server, new energy, and smart vehicle markets.
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