Chinese semiconductor start-up Xiangdixian Computing Technology has reportedly collapsed amid a cash crunch and dismissed all employees, highlighting difficulties faced by domestic chip firms despite a nationwide self-sufficiency push.
Xiangdixian, based in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing, held an all-staff meeting on Friday where it announced the dissolution of the company, terminating the contracts of nearly 400 employees, according to reports from local media such as ijiwei and TMTPost.
The company had failed to fulfil terms agreed upon in a previous funding round, following which its shareholders filed a lawsuit that led to the freezing of its bank account, TMTPost reported. Xiangdixian is now seeking new investors and trying to get access to its account, the outlet said.
Xiangdixian did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Xiangdixian, founded in September 2020 with a registered capital of 17.82 million yuan (US$2.51 million), specialises in graphics processing units (GPU).
It is helmed by chip veteran Tang Zhimin, who previously worked for Loongson Technology and Hygon Information Tech, two Chinese chip companies that make microprocessors.
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Its Tianjun series GPUs have successfully achieved research and development as well as mass production goals, Xiangdixian said in a post on WeChat on August 20.
Xiangdixian’s struggles represent another cautionary tale in China’s semiconductor industry, which has rapidly expanded in recent years as Beijing ramped up its push for technology self-sufficiency amid intensified trade tensions with the US.