China’s electric vehicle startups are defying the venture capital winter. While the country is leading a global contraction in VC investment, its auto sector has taken the top spot for funding so far this year, with more than 147 deals amounting to US$5.95 billion, according to data from research firm Preqin. Much of that has been from capital flowing into EVs, with batteries and semiconductors – two other high-growth sectors in the new-energy vehicle chain – in fourth and fifth place. All three have logged more deals than last year, while fundraising for once-hot industries like internet businesses, education, and real estate have fallen off a cliff.

A TechInsight report disclosed in July 2022 that Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) had been shipping 7nm chips made with 14nm equipment for the MinerVa Bitcoin Miner SoC for a year. The China-based pure-play foundry has yet to respond to the report, but is believed to have taken a low-profile approach to making its process technology advances.

Amid tightening scrutiny against Chinese investments by the Indian government, India-based smartphone maker Lava is reportedly talking with China-based Huaqin Technology to form a joint venture for electronics manufacturing, highlighting a quiet but quick expansion of Chinese smartphone ODM/IDH providers in burgeoning India.

Taiwan-based power MOSFET and diode makers, such as Advanced Power Electronics (A-Power), Eris Technology, Pan Jit International, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSC), and XSemi, a joint venture between Foxconn and Yageo, have stepped up their deployment in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.