Recently, 36Kr learned that Juxin Microelectronics, a provider of high-performance intelligent audio and optical solutions, has completed a Series D financing round of hundreds of millions of yuan. This round was led by 5Y Capital, with ByteDance and Juhua Chuanxin participating, and existing shareholders such as Huaye Tiancheng and Source Code Capital also increasing their investments. The funds raised will be used to accelerate product iteration and commercialization across various product lines, increase the team's talent pool, and expand into new products and markets.

Founded in 2016, Juxin Microelectronics is a company that 36Kr has been consistently following. It is an innovative chip design company with independent intellectual property rights. Positioned in the field of intelligent sensing, the company currently has multiple product lines including intelligent audio, 3D vision, optical sensing, and tactile sensing, and has received strategic investments from several leading smartphone and internet companies. This round of financing comes only six months after its previous Series C strategic financing of hundreds of millions of yuan.

In a previous article, 36Kr provided a detailed introduction to Juxin Microelectronics' smart audio products and 3D optical sensing chip products. In 2021, Juxin Microelectronics' smart audio amplifier products achieved mass production, serving hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide; the haptic feedback chip research and development was completed and the overall solution is being gradually improved, with mass production expected in 2022.

In the field of 3D optical sensing, Kong Fanxiao, co-founder of Juxin Microelectronics, told 36Kr that Juxin is one of the very few chip design companies in China that has the development capabilities of both iToF image sensing and dToF image sensing, and iToF is already in mass production.

Juxin Microelectronics' high-performance iToF image sensor has been successfully released and matched in application scenarios such as payment-level face recognition, 3D modeling, and logistics inspection. Its high-resolution dToF image sensor using 3D stacking technology has also been developed and is expected to help AR/XR perception in the metaverse era.

In addition to mobile phone applications, Kong Fanxiao said that Juxin Microelectronics will also develop automotive LiDAR products.

Juxin Microelectronics' advanced optical sensor product series has also entered mass production. The 3-in-1 ambient light/proximity light sensor is progressing smoothly in the market and is currently being evaluated by several mobile phone customers. In the future, Juxin Microelectronics will also bring a series of optical solutions to the industry, such as under-display color temperature detection for OLED screens, multispectral sensing, and precise ranging, further expanding the boundaries of visual perception.

In terms of the market, 36Kr has previously reported on companies such as Feixin Electronics and Juyou Intelligent in the TOF sensor field, and Lingming Photonics and ChipVision in the dTOF field. In the linear motor drive chip field, there are also domestic manufacturers such as Awinic Electronics.

In terms of business model, Juxin Microelectronics provides customers with chip-based overall solutions, as well as capabilities including chips, software, and algorithms.

Juxin Microelectronics' clients include leading smartphone manufacturers such as OPPO, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Honor.

Juxin Micro's core team mostly comes from well-known chip design companies in Europe and the United States, possessing leading technological innovation capabilities and rich industrialization experience. Headquartered in Wuhan Optics Valley Future Science City, it has subsidiaries and R&D centers in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Europe.

Liu Deheng, founder and CEO of Juxin Microelectronics, said, "Juxin will further attract top talents in the industry, increase talent density, adhere to the development of multiple product lines, promote the research and development and commercialization of products in multiple sensing fields such as hearing, vision, and touch, provide differentiated value to customers, and contribute to the development of the industry."

Liu Kai, a partner at 5Y Capital, stated, "Juxin Microelectronics is one of the few teams in China that possesses both top-tier R&D capabilities and successful mass production experience in the fields of intelligent audio and advanced optical sensing, achieving national leadership in multiple areas. We are very optimistic about the development of the company's next-generation 3D optical product line. With the maturation of AR/VR and smart car fields, we see a large number of optical application scenarios emerging. The next generation of hardware requires the support of the next generation of underlying supply chain technologies. This industry trend has already occurred many times in the fields of smartphones and new energy vehicles. We believe that the company has the opportunity to become a leader in the next generation of optical sensing."

Huaye Tiancheng Founding Partner Yang Huajun said, "From the early focus on a single product line to today's simultaneous development of multiple product lines, as an early investor in Juxin, we have witnessed Juxin's robust growth. Whether it is the development of digital twins or metaverse, it requires the data support of basic sensors and actuators. We look forward to Juxin becoming an important sensor for intelligent products in various industries in the field of vision and hearing in the future."