🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

A single client brings in nearly three-quarters of revenue

• SJ Semiconductor depends on a small set of buyers, which creates customer-concentration risk.
• In the first half of 2025, its largest customer generated 74.40% of revenue, and the top five clients contributed 90.87% of sales 1.
• Chiplet packaging has become the main revenue engine, rising from 5.32% of revenue in 2022 to 56.24% by mid-2025 2.
• In 2015, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (a state-backed investment vehicle often known as the “Big Fund”), and a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated signed a non-legally binding term sheet. The deal considered a $280 million investment to build out advanced capabilities 3.

This IPO fits a wider state-backed push for ‘hard tech’

• SJ Semiconductor’s listing ties into China’s capital market reforms that steer funding toward strategic technology sectors.
• Shanghai’s STAR Market brought back its “fifth listing standard,” which lets unprofitable but nationally important tech firms go public 4.
• Wafer producer Xi’an ESWIN Material Technology Co. Ltd. became the first unprofitable company to list on Shanghai’s STAR Market under the new reforms. Its shares closed up 198.7% on debut, which suggests strong demand for these prioritized companies 5.
• The rule offers a funding route for capital-intensive firms in China’s semiconductor supply chain, so they can pay for expansion without near-term profits.