China's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer, NAURA Technology Group, has completed the acquisition of a 90% stake in Chengdu Guotai Vacuum Technology Co., Ltd. This strategic move significantly expands NAURA's portfolio into the critical optical thin-film coating equipment sector, aiming to challenge the long-standing dominance of foreign companies in this high-precision market.
High-precision vacuum coating equipment is essential for producing key components in lidar, AR/VR waveguides, smartphone cameras, and aerospace optics. While the global market is valued at $27 billion, over 90% of China's high-end optical coating equipment relies on imports from giants like Germany's Leybold and Japan's Optorun. NAURA's acquisition is a direct response to this acute supply chain vulnerability and the urgent need for import substitution.
Chengdu Guotai Vacuum, founded in 2013, is a domestic leader in this niche. It has successfully localized core technologies, producing electron beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering coating systems. Its equipment can precisely control over 100 complex film layers and achieve an ultimate vacuum of 8.0×10⁻⁵ Pa, nearing international benchmarks. By integrating Guotai's specialized optical coating expertise with NAURA's broader vacuum technology and thin-film deposition capabilities and manufacturing scale, the combined entity is positioned to offer a more complete domestic equipment solution.
ICgoodFind's Insight
This acquisition is a targeted strategic play by NAURA to fill a specific and critical gap in China's semiconductor and advanced manufacturing supply chain. It represents a concerted effort to move key optical coating processes from being "import-dependent" to "domestically controllable," supporting the growth of strategic industries like electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
