Hard Kr has learned that Shenzhen H-Great Optoelectronics Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "Huahao Weiye") has recently completed a B-round financing of nearly 100 million yuan. The investors in this round are Xinfang Fund and Nuohui Investment. The funds raised will mainly be used for the expansion of the new phase of production capacity, new product research and development, and market expansion.

H-Great was established in 2014. Its products cover both interior and exterior vehicle lighting as well as in-vehicle screens. It is the first domestic automotive LED enterprise to introduce its products to automakers and achieve mass production and delivery within one year.

The development of China's automotive market has driven the growth of demand for digital cockpits, smart vehicles, pixel headlights, digital headlights, etc., and has also driven the development of the industrial chain behind new automotive technologies, including the LED industry. However, due to the high technical threshold, the market for automotive leds has long been monopolized by overseas manufacturers such as Osram, Tongliang, and Seoul.

Under the current highly competitive situation in the new energy vehicle market, car manufacturers have a demand to reduce costs for high-value components such as automotive leds. Therefore, there is a huge opportunity for domestic manufacturers to replace imports. However, the technical and regulatory barriers of automotive LED far exceed those of general LED. The number of listed companies involved has not yet exceeded five, and the domestic market competition has not yet reached a white-hot stage.

H-Great introduced that the company's products have been delivered in batches to leading automakers such as Nissan, Dongfeng, Geely and Chery. The product has covered all the light sources on the vehicle. At present, the Shenzhen factory is operating at full capacity. The Zhaoqing factory is expected to start the first phase of capacity release by the end of this year, which will temporarily solve the current problem of tight delivery.

Chen Zhiming, the founder of H-Great, told Hard Kr: "The company has become an important partner for most domestic and some international automakers." More and more cars on the road are equipped with products from Huahao. In recent years, the company has also achieved a considerable market share in the emerging front and rear interactive lights. These interactive vehicle lights have a very high LED density and extremely high reliability requirements, which need to exceed automotive regulations."

Hard Kr has learned that automotive digital high and low beam and ambient LED belong to the emerging market of automotive leds. The technical difficulty of high and low beam is high, and the reliability and heat dissipation requirements are much higher than those of other automotive leds, making it extremely difficult to pass automotive-grade certification.

H-Great stated that it ensures a more secure weld line through multiple self-developed technologies, including self-developed arc lines and welding processes. Self-developed low-expansion glue to enhance product reliability; Self-developed thermal sub-eutectic technology enhances the heat dissipation capacity of headlight leds. Self-developed whitening glue enhances the heat dissipation and anti-yellowing capabilities of headlight leds. The company has become the only domestic enterprise whose high and low beam LED performance surpasses that of Osram, and it is also the only domestic enterprise whose ambient light LED has passed the automotive-grade certification.

H-Great CTO Wei Jianhua told Hard Kr: The company is supported by its own manufacturing process and material technology. In terms of product reliability, it can fully withstand the test of three times the experimental time at 150° C. This indicator is equivalent to the reliability of H-Great's automotive leds exceeding international automotive standards by more than 50%, providing sufficient guarantee for operation in some extremely cold or hot regions. It also provides sufficient confidence for Chinese new energy vehicles to go global."

Facing the promising market of automotive leds, the funds raised in this round of financing by Huahao Weiye will be used to expand the production of automotive LED devices and also increase the research and development of automotive TOF sensors. Gradually form a complete automotive product system including vehicle-mounted light sources, TOF sensors and light control systems.

In terms of team members, Chen Zhiming, the founder and CEO, has held positions such as R&D engineer and sales director in the LED division of Zhongchi Co., LTD. CTO Wei Jianhua was once one of the co-founders of Jufei Optoelectronics and also held key positions in the R&D department of Everlight Electronics in Taiwan, China. He has long held positions such as Director of Product R&D. All other core members have more than ten years of industrial experience.

Yu Wenchao, a partner of Dunhong Asset, believes that since its establishment, the Huahao team has targeted the high-end market. With nearly a decade of R&D accumulation and years of experience accompanying major manufacturers, the company has finally become one of the few domestic manufacturers that have overcome technical difficulties and achieved mass production. Our company invested in Huahao Company as early as 2022. Now the phased results have been released and are immediately favored by new investors. We hope that through this round of financing, the company can enhance its production capacity, expand its product line and further consolidate its technological strength.

Zhong Xiaobing, a partner of Xinfang Capital Fund, believes that Xinfang Capital, as the manager of Zhaoqing Xijiang Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund, participated in this round of financing of Huahao Weiye. The new energy vehicle industry is one of the pillar industries in Zhaoqing City, where well-known automakers such as XPeng Motors and GAC Group have gathered. However, it is understood that the supply chain for automotive light sources was previously largely dependent on imports. But Huahao Weiye has overcome the technical challenges related to automotive light sources and has already gained relatively rich experience in mass production and delivery. We hope that Huahao Weiye can combine the regional characteristics and industrial advantages of Zhaoqing City, and through the investment and empowerment of Xinfang Capital, further enhance the core competitiveness of the company and build a benchmark enterprise for industrial upgrading in the west wing of the Greater Bay Area.