Signal Chain Chip Developer SENSilicon Secures $17M Round A Financing

SENSilicon, a company that develops high-performance digital-analog hybrid and signal chain chips, announced on April 3 the completion of a round A financing worth 120 million yuan ($17 million). The funding was led by CoStone Capital and followed by Hefei Industry Investment as well as all existing shareholders.

SENSilicon was founded in 2020 by a team of experienced professionals from renowned semiconductor companies such as TI, ADI, and Qualcomm. With over twenty years of experience, the core team members bring a wealth of knowledge to the company which now has established marketing and R&D centers in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hefei.

High-end digital-analog hybrid and signal chain chips are highly complex and widely utilized in various industries, including automotive and new energy. The global analog circuit market size was $74 billion in 2021, with the signal chain chip market comprising 47% of this market, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Although China’s demand for analog ICs represents 60% of the worldwide demand, its production output only accounts for approximately 10% of the world’s total output.

The signal chain chip development is progressing rapidly due to the growth of the new energy market. Despite this, Chinese industrial and automotive advanced manufacturing currently has a self-sufficiency rate of less than 10% for chips, with core products still heavily reliant on imports.

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SENSilicon started mass producing the SHC6686, a 32-bit AFE chip with ultra-high resolution for geophysical exploration in April 2022. The chip has completely independent intellectual property rights and can be extensively utilized in energy exploration, earthquake monitoring, and automated testing equipment.

SENSilicon has recently launched the AFE chip SHC6248, which boasts low-power consumption, minimal noise interference and high integration capabilities. In the coming year, SENSilicon plans to release several series of highly integrated AFE products that can be utilized in industrial automation equipment, medical devices, semiconductor equipment and high-precision industrial instruments.