China’s top lithography bet shifts gears: SMEE sells subsidiary in strategic pivot
State-backed SMEE, often dubbed China’s best ASML challenger, has sold Shanghai Weiyao to AMIES in a move that prioritises tool development
China’s state-backed lithography champion Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) has reshuffled its business, divesting a manufacturing arm as it sharpens its focus on research in Beijing’s push for chip self-sufficiency.
SMEE – widely seen as China’s best chance of closing the gap with Dutch lithography giant ASML – had transferred 100 per cent of its subsidiary Shanghai Weiyao Industrial to AMIES Technology, according to updates on corporate database Qichacha.
The deal was priced at 228.5 million yuan (US$32 million) and was updated on Tuesday.
Founded in 2003, Shanghai Weiyao’s business scope includes the processing of metal components and materials – a move that effectively shifts part of SMEE’s production footprint to AMIES, a spin-off established in early 2025.
The transaction signalled a strategic pivot for SMEE as it concentrated more heavily on the “front-end” development of lithography tools as part of China’s broader move to catch up with ASML.
AMIES, meanwhile, has accelerated the commercialisation of equipment for domestic chipmakers, according to Chinese media reports cited by industry observers.
