Singapore has a new tech billionaire

The Star Market, China’s take on a Nasdaq-like stock exchange for tech companies, got off to a hot start. It began trading with 25 listed companies, with stocks multiplying in value on opening day.

Lost amid the fanfare was the minting of a new Singaporean billionaire.

Meet Teo Swee Ann. He’s the CEO and founder of Espressif Systems, a Shanghai-headquartered semiconductor firm specializing in low-powered and low-cost chips for “internet of things” devices – think activity trackers and smart wristbands and light bulbs.

According to Tech in Asia’s estimations using information from the firm’s IPO prospectus, Teo’s net worth at the time of writing is roughly S$1.05 billion (US$784 million). This is based on his company’s latest stock price of CNY 150 (US$21.8).

The founder held a sizable 58.1% of the company before the public listing. Following the issuance of new shares, he owns 43.6%.

Espressif declined to comment on this story.

Teo is a born and bred Singaporean who graduated from top-tier school Hwa Chong Junior College (now Hwa Chong Institution) in 1993. He went on to obtain a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2000.

He was a semiconductor engineer at a number of firms before striking out on his own to set up Espressif. Prominent investors in the firm include Intel Capital and Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group.

The company is profitable and growing, earning US$69 million in revenue in 2018 – almost double from the year before. It’s been profitable for at least three years, with US$13.7 million in net profit last year (that’s a margin of 20%).

Its flagship chip is the ESP32, which has a processor, internal memory, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, sensors, and more.