National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund

The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (国家集成电路产业投资基金, commonly known as the "Big Fund" or 大基金) is a state-backed investment vehicle established to advance China's semiconductor industry. It was launched alongside the 2014 "National Integrated Circuit Industry Development Guidelines," marking a shift toward state-led industrial investment aimed at moving domestic chip production up the value chain toward mid-to-high-end segments . The fund operates across both primary and secondary markets: in venture rounds it tends to participate post-Series A and B, though it made an exception with a 2021 angel-round investment in Nantong Nanda Optoelectronics' photoresist development , and it has backed major listed companies through substantial private placements, such as Tongfu Microelectronics' 2022 issuance exceeding 2.6 billion yuan . The fund also functions as an anchor LP in regional semiconductor ecosystems; for instance, it co-invested 4 billion yuan in Yandong Microelectronics alongside Yizhuang State Investment in 2018, and partnered with Yizhuang and RL Integration to establish Changxin Jidian Memory with a 16.1 billion yuan commitment in 2022 . Big Fund Phase II, raised in 2019, brought in provincial and municipal governments including Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhejiang, and Anhui as limited partners, reflecting how local state capital platforms have become deeply intertwined with national semiconductor strategy .