Hua Hong Grace pushes deeper into mature-node chipmaking
SHANGHAI — Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor is gaining ground in China’s specialty foundry market as a new 40-nanometer ultra-low-power process reaches stable mass production and its 12-inch wafer line in Wuxi continues to ramp, according to Digitimes and company information.
The progress gives the Shanghai-based chipmaker a stronger position in mature-node manufacturing, a segment increasingly important to China’s technology strategy. Unlike the most advanced chips used in high-end artificial intelligence accelerators, mature and specialty processes are widely used in microcontrollers, power management chips, radio-frequency components, embedded memory, sensors and chips for industrial equipment, consumer electronics and automobiles.
Digitimes reported that Hua Hong Grace’s 40-nanometer ultra-low-power specialty process has moved into stable mass production, broadening the company’s logic and radio-frequency offerings. The process is designed to lower chip power consumption, a key requirement for internet-of-things devices, wearables and edge computing products that depend on longer battery life.
The Wuxi 12-inch line is also becoming a larger contributor to the company’s business. Chinese industry reports cited by Digitimes said the line accounted for more than 60% of revenue in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the importance of the newer facility to Hua Hong Grace’s expansion beyond its older 8-inch base in Shanghai.
Hua Hong Grace, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, describes itself as a pure-play foundry focused on specialty technologies. Its strategy combines 8-inch and 12-inch capacity with specialty integrated circuits and power discrete devices, placing it in a different lane from foundries racing mainly toward leading-edge nodes.
China’s chip self-sufficiency drive lifts specialty foundries
The company’s momentum comes as Chinese chip designers increase domestic sourcing amid supply-chain uncertainty and U.S. technology controls. That shift has raised demand for local foundries able to provide dependable production for chips that do not require cutting-edge geometries but still need proven performance, high yield and specialized device characteristics.
Hua Hong Grace is one of China’s most prominent foundries after Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. Its strengths include embedded nonvolatile memory, power devices, analog and mixed-signal processes, microcontrollers and other specialty platforms. Those areas are central to electric vehicles, industrial automation, smart appliances and connected devices.
The company’s Wuxi project has been a major part of that strategy. Earlier project descriptions said the second phase was designed as a 12-inch specialty process production line covering 65/55-nanometer to 40-nanometer technologies, with planned monthly capacity of 83,000 wafers.
Hua Hong Grace’s recent performance has also been helped by rising shipments and the Wuxi ramp. Public financial summaries showed 2025 revenue rose to about $2.4 billion, although the company remained loss-making for the year. The improvement reflected higher wafer shipments and broader use of the Wuxi fab, even as foundries globally continued to face pricing pressure in some mature-node markets.
The company still faces stiff competition. Global foundry leaders retain advantages in customer relationships, advanced manufacturing and scale, while Chinese rivals are also adding mature-node capacity. Overexpansion could pressure margins if demand weakens or if multiple domestic producers chase the same chip categories.
For now, the 40-nanometer process and Wuxi ramp give Hua Hong Grace a clearer role in China’s semiconductor buildout: not as a direct challenger at the most advanced nodes, but as a supplier of the practical chips needed in everyday electronics, industrial systems and emerging edge-AI devices.
