What’s new: Hubble Technology Venture Capital Co. Ltd., a unit of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., has registered as a private equity and venture capital fund manager, records from industry group the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) show.
The move highlights the telecommunications equipment giant’s ambition to expand its footprint in the advanced manufacturing investment sector.
Founded in 2019, Shenzhen-based Hubble has invested in more than 40 companies, according to public business records. Many of them are parts of the semiconductor supply chain that includes chip design, manufacturing and testing.
Hubble has a registered capital of 3 billion yuan ($473 million), according to AMAC records. The firm can manage up to 500 million yuan of assets. Bai Yi, chairman and general manager of Hubble, worked for Huawei for more than two decades before moving to head the investment firm in 2019.
The background: Huawei’s own chipmaking ambition suffered a huge blow in recent years amid U.S. sanctions and a global chip supply shortage.
The company’s semiconductor investments could be part of a move to build up its own chipmaking knowhow, potentially allowing it to fully design and manufacture chips in China someday to sidestep any future restrictions from the U.S. or other countries, analysts said.
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Cover Story: How the Global Semiconductor Industry Turned Into a Free-for-All
Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com) and editor Lin Jinbing (jinbinglin@caixin.com)
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