Chinese EV battery giant CATL and Guoxin Micro set up a new automotive chip firm

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest maker of electric vehicle batteries, has partnered with semiconductor developer Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics to form a new automotive chip firm in Beijing.\nCATL-owned Wending Investment, Guoxin Micro subsidiary Tongxin Micro and five affiliates have agreed to establish Tongxin Micro Technology with a registered capital of 300 million yuan (US$43 million), according to a Thursday filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.\nWith its 153 million yuan investment, Tongxin Micro holds a controlling 51 per cent stake in the new firm, while Wending Investment’s 15 million yuan outlay gave it a 5 per cent shareholding, according to the filing.\nFour employee stock platforms under state-owned Tsinghua Unigroup have a combined 24 per cent stake.\nThe newly formed entity was set to acquire the automotive domain controller chip business from Tongxin Micro for 193 million yuan. Based on the asset’s book value, that price represented an appraised appreciation rate of 3,723 per cent.\nAccording to Guoxin Micro, a company with roots in China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, having CATL as a partner would help deepen strategic ties with the new firm’s target customers.\nThe automotive domain controller chip business would require significant capital investment and a long investment cycle, Guoxin Micro said in its filing. “By introducing external investors, the company will only bear losses in proportion to its equity stake.”\n\nThe move to establish a new Chinese automotive chip firm marked CATL’s latest expansion initiative.\nCATL’s other strategic semiconductor investments included artificial intelligence chip developer Horizon Robotics, Shanghai-based start-up SmartLogic and power semiconductor firm Silicon Magic in Hangzhou.\nThis year, the company has also been involved in building pure electric vessels that would sail the oceans in three years; a collaboration with BYD on battery technology and electrification at the operations of Australian mining giant BHP; and a partnership with Sinopec Group and EV assembler Nio to ramp up construction of battery-swapping stations across the mainland.\nIntegrated circuits designer Guoxin Micro is focused on smart security chips. For the first nine months of 2025, the company reported 4.9 billion yuan in revenue, up 15.05 per cent year on year, while net profit rose 25.04 per cent to 1.26 billion yuan.\nGuoxin Micro’s shares gained 1.33 per cent to close at 80.22 yuan on Friday, while CATL’s Shenzhen-listed stock edged up to 374.43 yuan.\nFounded in 2001 by a team from Tsinghua University’s Institute of Microelectronics, Guoxin Micro subsidiary Tongxin Micro has shipped over 27 billion chips, according to the company.\n