2023.07.28 Views:
Recently, RAYSEES, a leading provider of VCSEL chips and optical solutions in the industry, has successfully completed nearly 100 million yuan in Series B1 financing with participation from CoStone capital.
RAYSEES is a deep-tech company that specializes in the semiconductor optical chip field, focusing on providing global leading VCSEL chips and optical solutions for customers in the fields of intelligent driving, consumer electronics, intelligent sensing, and medical healthcare.
Founded by a team of returnee doctors, RAYSEES has team members with extensive backgrounds in the optoelectronic semiconductor industry and years of experience in large-scale industrialization. RAYSEES possesses internationally leading core technologies in chip design, optical integration and packaging, algorithm development, and photonic system integration optimization. RAYSEES has also established a complete industry chain of "chip + optics + applications," launching a series of self-developed high-performance VCSEL chips and integrated optical products. They have filed for over 150 domestic and international technical invention patents and serve more than 100 global customers.
Regarding the investment rationale, CoStone capital stated that RAYSEES operates in a large VCSEL industry space, and combined with their stable team, high product barriers, and strong technical capabilities, they have a powerful advantage.
VCSEL has expanded from the data communication market to the 3D sensing consumer market and will continue to deeply explore application potential in emerging markets such as the automotive market and medical healthcare. According to estimates, it is projected that by 2023, the shipment volume of VCSEL will increase from 652 million units in 2017 to over 3.3 billion units, with a compound annual growth rate of 31% from 2017 to 2023. Upstream and downstream of the semiconductor industry chain, including chip design, equipment suppliers, epitaxy and foundry factories, and system integrators, are all positioning towards VCSEL.
In terms of specific product layout, RAYSEES has achieved product layout and breakthroughs in three major directions: consumer electronics, automotive, and smart hardware:
- In the consumer electronics field, RAYSEES VCSEL chip products have entered the supply chains of major consumer electronics manufacturers in Japan and South Korea and have accumulated more than tens of millions of units in mass production, leading domestically.
- In the automotive field, RAYSEES has been continuously investing in the research and development of related products since its establishment. In 2022, RAYSEES successively obtained the AEC-Q102 automotive regulation certification and the IATF16949 international automotive quality management system certification. In early 2023, RAYSEES VCSEL products were integrated into BYD's vehicles, assisting their "Wings" series of cars in achieving intelligent driving at night. Meanwhile, the company has closely collaborated with domestic and foreign automotive LiDAR companies on next-generation VCSEL LiDAR projects.
- In the smart hardware field, RAYSEES actively promotes innovative applications of VCSEL technology in various scenarios. In addition to enabling Baidu's delivery robot to perceive its surroundings comprehensively, the company has also collaborated with a leading radar solution provider in the floor-sweeping robot industry to jointly launch the industry's first LDS solution based on VCSEL technology, which has achieved mass production of over one million units. At the end of 2022, RAYSEES' VCSEL products entered the supply chain of leading domestic projector brands and began mass production. Currently, RAYSEES also holds the highest market share in the VCSEL projection application market.
RAYSEES' vision is to make life more intelligent, safe, and beautiful with optical technology, aspiring to become a global leading provider of VCSEL chips and optical solutions. Since its establishment, RAYSEES has continuously received investments from top institutions due to its solid technical strength, efficient closed-loop capabilities in technology, production, and application, advanced management abilities, and leading performance among peers. It is believed that in the near future, RAYSEES will bring us more surprises and expectations.
Over the past year, the bull market returned, with technology leading the way.
As I said back in October 2024, the rally that began on September 24 was not merely a rebound, but a reversal. Since then, China's capital markets have undergone a broad revaluation, moving from undervaluation toward fair value.
The Shanghai Composite Index reached its highest level in a decade. The "Yi-Zhong-Tian" trio—Eoptolink, Zhongji Innolight and TFC Communication, three prominent Chinese optical communications stocks—saw their share prices multiply severalfold in a single year. Cambricon's market capitalization briefly exceeded RMB 600 billion. Elsewhere in the technology sector, triple-digit price-to-earnings ratios and valuations exceeding RMB 10 billion became commonplace.
Some investors were greedy; others, fearful. Still others asked me: Are technology stocks in a valuation bubble?
My answer is that what we are witnessing is the hunger and anxiety of an era, reflected in the capital markets. Once you understand this, the current fervor for technology investing is no longer difficult to explain.
Investment has nothing to do with macroeconomics, but everything to do with geopolitics.
China-US relations will shape the investment landscape for decades to come. Geopolitics has played a major role in shaping the hunger and anxiety of our times, fundamentally reshaping the way we invest.
What, then, lies at the heart of China's hunger and anxiety?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is already underway, yet China has not fully overcome the technological shortcomings left by the Third. There is no time to lose.
This is why some people wonder: Why do Chinese computing chip companies command such high valuations when their technologies still lag so far behind NVIDIA's? Why does NVIDIA trade at just 50 times earnings, while a company hailed as "China's answer to NVIDIA" commands a multiple of 300?
To me, this gets the logic exactly backward.
It is precisely because these companies cannot catch up with NVIDIA in the near term that they command a higher strategic premium. The wider the technological gap, the greater the strategic value.
The further something lies beyond our reach, the stronger our hunger. The harder it is to catch up, the deeper our anxiety. If China were to achieve a complete breakthrough in computing chips one day, valuations might actually come down.
Where can one find China's most spectacular natural landscapes?
Much of the answer, I believe, lies in and around the Hengduan Mountains: the Meili Snow Mountains, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Mount Gongga, Mount Siguniang, Jiuzhaigou, and many others. Vast differences in elevation and deep fault lines have given rise to landscapes of extraordinary grandeur.
Hard-tech investing follows a similar logic.
Technological gaps, discontinuities in capabilities, and missing links in industrial systems: a leap in difficulty brings a leap in valuation, and a successful breakthrough can, in turn, bring a leap in returns.
This logic extends well beyond computing chips. It is equally evident in memory semiconductors, commercial spaceflight, and other sectors where China still faces substantial technological gaps with other countries.
It was precisely this conviction that led CoStone Capital, starting in 2016, to decisively focus its investments on three areas: hard tech, emerging industries, and life sciences and healthcare. In this context, "hard tech" refers specifically to important industries in which China faces a technological gap with the United States.
Thanks to this forward-looking strategy, CoStone Capital established an early presence across the full value chains of key sectors, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Looking ahead, the frontiers of technological progress and industrial upgrading are boundless. Nor can the gaps in hard technology be closed overnight. The twin windows of opportunity presented by technological innovation and the development of homegrown alternatives to foreign technologies have only just begun to open.
The road ahead is long, but the future holds immense promise.
As an investment firm, CoStone Capital will continue to invest where the hunger and anxiety of each era run deepest, move forward with the tensions that shape our times, and extend our reach toward the most challenging—and most important—frontiers.
Spring 2026