36KR learned that Suzhou Zooming Intelligent Technology Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as “Zooming Intelligent Technology”) has recently completed tens of millions of yuan angel round financing.

This round of financing is led by Shenzhen Tongchuang, and co-capital is invested, and the funds raised will be mainly used in three aspects: the research and development and mass production preparation of Stocker in the AMHS system, the research and development of OHT crane system and overseas layout. Founded in 2020, Zooming Intelligent Technology is a semiconductor fab equipment company focused on the production, development and sales of AMHS (Automatic Material Handling Systems). AMHS is one of the core systems that can directly affect the material handling efficiency in semiconductor fabs, and the deployment of AMHS system can optimally improve the large-scale production efficiency of advanced process fabs. However, at present, the global semiconductor AMHS market is mainly occupied by Japanese enterprises, and technology autonomy is a key issue to be solved. In recent years, the scale of China’s semiconductor industry has continued to expand, and the AMHS market has broad prospects. In the fab investment, the AMHS system alone accounts for about 5% of the capital investment, which is an indispensable part of the fab. Chip manufacturing requires high process and environmental requirements – advanced 12-inch semiconductor factories need a clean and dust-free environment, and the implementation of unmanned, uninterrupted management mode. Therefore, the automation and intelligence of the entire plant operation are highly required, which makes how to improve the space utilization rate of the entire clean factory, reduce the idle time of the machine, and improve production efficiency and product yield become its most concerned issues. The AMHS system enables unmanned automated transfer of complex processes in a clean environment, improving operational efficiency while ensuring quality and yield. Therefore, AMHS system is the preferred choice for large-scale production in 12-inch advanced process fabs to improve production efficiency.

With the development of industry technology, AMHS is also widely used in various semiconductor manufacturing processes such as 12-inch silicon wafer manufacturing, chip manufacturing, and advanced packaging. However, Japan’s Murata Machinery and Daifuku have long monopolized the AMHS market in China and around the world. 36kR learned that the two companies have covered more than 90% of the domestic fabs, and more than 95% of the market share at the international level. Under the influence of the international environment, fabs in mainland China urgently need to replace AMHS hardware equipment (including OHT, OHB, OHCV, Stocker, Lifter, NTB, etc.) and software systems (including MCS, OHTC, STKC, etc.) with domestic production. The core team of “Zooming Intelligent Technology” comes from Murata, Japan, and its software leader has been responsible for Murata MCS, Tench OHTC system and other devices and end-customer application software systems in Japan. The project experience includes Samsung, Huaya, South Asia, UMC, micron (Taiwan, China) and ASE in Asia. Europe’s German Global Foundries, Siltronics; ST and Micro of France; micron in the United States; The hardware leader is the former Murata Machinery semiconductor automation system planning and design engineer. He has led the semiconductor FA business department to successfully complete many world-renowned Fab construction projects. The project experience includes the automation introduction of 6 200mm-300mm Fab plants of TSMC in 8 years. Applied Material and IBM in North America; Taiwan’s Inotera(now Micron), ProMOS(now SPIL), South Asia, Winbond, UMC. Founder Zhao Meng graduated from Xidian University majoring in computer science and Technology. After graduation, he worked for a listed company of liquid crystal and semiconductor industry equipment in Japan. In 2011, Zhao Meng returned to China to start his own business, focusing on the related equipment in the LCD industry and completing the domestic replacement of the equipment, and becoming the designated supplier of BOE, CEC Electronics, Vicinuo, and Yisiwei. Based on up to 9 years of experience in liquid crystal industry transport system, Zhao Meng knows the urgency and importance of the semiconductor industry localization replacement demand. Based on the good cooperative relationship between the founder and many well-known semiconductor equipment manufacturers in Japan, and the management experience in Japanese enterprises, Zhao Meng has a deep understanding of the research and development and market strategy of Japanese enterprises, and is determined to make efforts to solve the “jam neck” situation of the domestic AMHS track.

Based on the Know-How accumulated in the project research and development and implementation, the hardware development of “Zooming intelligent technology” exceeds the domestic level and is benchmarking Japan’s Murata and Daifuku. In addition to the realization of domestic replacement of AMHS, in February this year, “Zooming Intelligent Technology” is preparing to set up a South Korean branch, and plans to supply products overseas. In 2023, “Zooming Intelligent Technology” will complete all hardware and software research and development of AMHS system. In 2024, it is planned to build a software architecture to the upper level and extend the MCS system to the MES system. Hardware research and development will also use high-quality resources in Japan and South Korea to introduce more technology for other equipment in the semiconductor industry. Investor view: Dr. Jun Deng, Chief Investment Officer of Tongchuang Weiyi, said: “Zooming is a shining star in the process of fabs and packaging plants AMHS localization. Semiconductor AMHS system has been subject to overseas monopoly, technical barriers are high, in the domestic fab construction is in full swing, the development of our independent AMHS system is imminent. Zooming has a first-class AMHS team, has a very wide range of industry influence, and has a very rich experience in the benchmarking cases of 12-inch fabs at home and abroad. Recently, the United States and Japan began to stimulate the semiconductor industry, and overseas AMHS leaders are facing a long delivery time and gradually unable to keep up with the situation, which is also an excellent time to respect the core. We are very optimistic about Zooming’s future development and potential.