Vertilite, a Domestic VCSEL Manufacturer, Closes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series C3 Funding to Accelerate Automotive Electronics Push

Vertilite, a leading domestic VCSEL supplier, recently closed a Series C3 round of several hundred million yuan, led by WY Capital with follow-on investments from BYD, CPE, Gaorong Ventures, and Yicun Capital. Gaorong Ventures first backed Vertilite in its 2018 Series B and has continued to participate in subsequent rounds. The fresh capital will accelerate product and technology upgrades as well as the company's push into automotive electronics.

Founded in 2015, Vertilite is an innovative optoelectronic semiconductor company dedicated to providing high-power, high-frequency VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) solutions for global customers. Its main products include VCSEL chips, devices, and modules. The company has established epitaxy and packaging/testing production lines in Changzhou, with current epitaxy capacity at 1,000 six-inch wafers per month, set to reach 1,500 wafers per month next year. Vertilite pursued a global operating strategy from day one. Headquartered in Changzhou, Jiangsu, it has set up offices in the US, South Korea, Taiwan, and Shanghai. The company boasts strong talent reserves — 20% of its team holds PhDs, with extensive academic and industry experience in VCSEL technology. To date, Vertilite has partnered with over 200 companies, including well-known consumer electronics brands and major automotive electronics manufacturers.

In consumer electronics, Vertilite's products, recognized for leading performance and reliability, are widely used in Huawei, Honor, Sharp, and MEIZU smartphones. The Face ID VCSEL chip in Honor's recently launched flagship Magic3 is supplied exclusively by Vertilite. This year, the company is expanding into additional consumer electronics applications: it has begun mass delivery for robotic vacuum cleaners and smart door locks, and its proximity sensor series has reached monthly chip deliveries in the millions.

With the advent of intelligent driving, VCSEL chips — core components of 3D imaging and sensing systems — are advancing from consumer-grade to automotive-grade applications. Vertilite has recently made breakthroughs in automotive electronics. VCSEL is regarded in the LiDAR industry as the next-generation laser solution. Vertilite is actively collaborating with multiple top-tier domestic and international LiDAR makers to develop next-generation hybrid solid-state and solid-state LiDAR solutions. The company already had VCSEL products pass third-party AEC-Q qualification in 2020, and obtained IATF 16949 certification in early 2021, laying the groundwork for large-scale automotive electronics deployment. Front-loading mass production in automotive electronics is expected by end of 2021. In optical communications — a traditional VCSEL application — Vertilite has begun sample testing and expects to start formal mass production in 2022. As VCSEL laser performance improves, the company has also made inroads into medical aesthetics, beginning to replace traditional edge-emitting lasers, with products already in mass delivery.

Since its founding, Vertilite has consistently attracted investment from leading funds and strategic investors, including Huawei's Hubble Investment and Xiaomi's industrial investment arm in 2020. Industry analysts attribute the company's ability to secure repeated backing from top-tier institutions to its solid technical foundation, strong epitaxy design and production capabilities, unique device structure and process design expertise, in-house packaging and testing lines, and rapid product iteration.

Chen Xiaochi, General Manager of Vertilite, said: "Vertilite now has a comprehensive business portfolio spanning consumer electronics, automotive electronics, optical communications, and medical aesthetics. In automotive electronics, whether for driver and passenger monitoring in smart cockpits or corner and main radars mounted on the vehicle body, VCSEL advantages are steadily expanding. It can better perceive and monitor the external environment around the vehicle, providing sensing information for active safety systems. Vertilite's biggest advantage in entering the automotive-grade VCSEL market lies in our proprietary epitaxy and packaging/testing lines, which ensure quality control while allowing continuous upgrades based on customer needs."

Michael Mao, Founding Partner of Gaorong Ventures, said: "VCSEL is the core component of 3D sensing systems. Vertilite possesses top-tier technical strength, deep industry experience, and a mature supply chain in this field, and has become the leading domestic supplier of mass-produced smartphone VCSEL chips. We look forward to the company enabling broader VCSEL applications in consumer electronics, automotive electronics, and optical communications, bringing this technology closer to more end consumers."

Smart parking leader AIPark secures strategic investment from Xiaomi

Innovusion closes $66 million Series B+ round to accelerate LiDAR mass production

Galixir completes new strategic funding round, continues advancing AI-powered drug R&D pipeline