Yitai Microelectronics has completed its Pre-A+ round of financing and is committed to promoting the development of domestically produced in-vehicle Ethernet chips in China.

Recently, it was learned that Yitai Microelectronics has recently completed its Pre-A+ round of financing, led by Zhongke Chuangxing with follow-up investment from Tongchuang Gongjin, and continuous follow-up investment from Pengchen Capital, Yiqi Lihe, and others. Yitai Microelectronics stated that the main use of this round of financing is for the research and development of in-vehicle Ethernet chips and product delivery. Previously, Yitai Microelectronics completed two rounds of financing, angel round and Pre-A round, in 2023.

Nanjing Yitai Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2022 and is one of the few teams in China dedicated to the research and development of in-vehicle Ethernet chips. Based on years of accumulation in the field of Ethernet communication chips, Yitai Microelectronics has developed high-performance, highly reliable, and low-power in-vehicle Ethernet communication chips and solutions.

With the advancement of intelligent cockpits, autonomous driving, and other intelligent processes, the demand for high-speed communication inside automobiles continues to rise. Due to its advantages such as high bandwidth, high reliability, and lightweight wiring harnesses, in-vehicle Ethernet has become a key technology for meeting the high-speed communication needs inside vehicles.

Currently, in-vehicle Ethernet chips are generally dependent on imports and are dominated by international communication chip giants such as Marvell Electronics and Broadcom. In-vehicle Ethernet chips are mainly divided into two categories: switching chips and physical layer transceiver chips. Chinese products are concentrated in a small number of low-speed in-vehicle PHY chips, while in-vehicle Switch chips are still in a supply blank stage.

Zhong Jianfeng, the founder of Yitai Microelectronics, stated that currently, only a few teams in China are developing in-vehicle PHY chips. Yitai Microelectronics is one of the few teams in China that simultaneously develops in-vehicle PHY chips and in-vehicle Switch chips, providing complete solutions for in-vehicle Ethernet chips.

The reason is that Switch chips are complex large-scale digital ASIC chips that cannot use mature functional modules and require the design of a large number of dedicated circuits. By overcoming this technical barrier, Yitai Microelectronics has launched the only in-vehicle Gigabit TSN Ethernet Switch chip in China, which performs equally to leading products in the industry.

In terms of product competitiveness, Yitai Microelectronics' advantages lie in reaching the level of international manufacturers in product performance, while also meeting the localization requirements of OEMs. Another advantage is local service; Yitai Microelectronics can respond to OEM development needs more promptly, supporting rapid iteration for automakers. Zhong Jianfeng gave an example, stating that international chip giants may take two weeks to respond to a fault, while Chinese teams can respond within 24 hours.

In terms of product development progress, Yitai Microelectronics' industrial Ethernet chip products have been mass-produced and delivered, achieving technical verification and generating revenue. In-vehicle Ethernet chips are currently in the final stages of testing and will soon be delivered to OEM customers for testing. Zhong Jianfeng stated that Yitai Microelectronics will continuously improve its product and technology levels, striving to become a leading global supplier of in-vehicle Ethernet chip solutions.

The general manager of Zhongke Chuangxing stated: As the electronic and electrical architecture of intelligent connected vehicles evolves rapidly from distributed to centralized, high-speed transmission will become an important limitation. In comparison to traditional automotive bus technologies, in-vehicle Ethernet has obvious advantages in terms of transmission rate and lightweighting, making it quickly becoming the mainstream communication technology inside vehicles. However, the localization of in-vehicle Ethernet chips, as important infrastructure, still has significant shortcomings, making it difficult to support the large and rapidly growing domestic new energy vehicle market downstream. Yitai Micro has a well-established team with rich experience in relevant fields, deeply integrated with downstream customer resources, and is expected to fill the gaps in the localization of this field, becoming an important part of the domestic vehicle chip ecosystem.

As the degree of intelligence and connectivity in automobiles increases, the demand for high-bandwidth communication inside vehicles greatly increases. With the combination of market scale and localization of supply, there is a huge opportunity for in-vehicle Ethernet switching chips. The Yitai Micro team has extensive experience in the development of Ethernet TSN chips and understands the demands of domestic automakers for in-vehicle Ethernet, making its team capable of driving the localization development of in-vehicle Ethernet chips.