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UNISOC Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
UNISOC was acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup for $1.8B in July 2013, a 2.5x multiple on $720M of revenue.
UNISOC revenue at acquisition
$720M
Last twelve months · Jul 2013
UNISOC revenue multiple at acquisition
2.5x
EV/Revenue · Jul 2013
Cumulative funding UNISOC raised
$5.5B
across 7 funding rounds
About UNISOC
UNISOC (Shanghai) Technologies, known in China as Ziguang Zhanrui, is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai that designs chips for mobile phones and connected devices. Its products include 4G and 5G smartphone systems-on-chip such as the T750, T760 and T8300, cellular IoT and connectivity chips, and chips for wearables, smart displays and cars. It earns its revenue from chip sales to handset and device makers including ZTE, Nubia, HMD, Lava and Motorola, and about 90% of its market is overseas. In 2024 revenue reached a record CNY 14.5 billion and it shipped more than 1.6 billion chips; it employs over 5,000 people, more than 85% in R&D, and ranked fourth worldwide in smartphone processor shipments with a 14% share in late 2024. The company traces its roots to Spreadtrum Communications, founded in Shanghai in 2001 and co-founded by Chen Datong, which Tsinghua Unigroup took private in 2013 and combined with RDA Microelectronics. It is controlled by New Unigroup, owned since the 2022 reorganisation by a consortium led by Zhilu and JAC Capital, with the Big Fund and Intel as major shareholders, and it became a joint-stock company in March 2025 ahead of a planned STAR Market listing.
Founded
2001
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Revenue
$1.8B (Nov 2024)
Valuation
$9.1B (Jun 2024)
Sectors
UNISOC Acquisition
UNISOC was acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup for $1.8B on 12 July 2013.
The acquisition price implies a 2.5x revenue multiple on $720M of revenue.
Before the acquisition UNISOC had raised $5.5B across 7 funding rounds.
Tsinghua Unigroup agreed on 12 July 2013 to acquire all outstanding shares of Nasdaq-listed Spreadtrum Communications for US$31.00 per American Depositary Share, or US$10.33 per ordinary share. The merger valued Spreadtrum's equity at approximately US$1.78 billion on a fully diluted basis and was not subject to any financing condition. Tsinghua Unigroup was an operating subsidiary of Tsinghua Holdings, a state-owned company funded by Tsinghua University, and its chairman Zhao Weiguo presented the deal as the start of a Chinese semiconductor platform. The transaction closed on 23 December 2013 after shareholder and regulatory approvals, and Spreadtrum was delisted. Credit Suisse advised Tsinghua Unigroup, while Morgan Stanley Asia advised Spreadtrum. Spreadtrum, founded in Shanghai in 2001, was a fabless semiconductor company developing mobile chipset platforms for smartphones, feature phones and other consumer electronics supporting 2G, 3G and 4G standards, with annual revenue of approximately US$720 million in 2012. Unigroup later added RDA Microelectronics, and the two businesses were combined under the UNISOC brand in 2018.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Jul 2013 | Strategic M&A | $1.8B | 2.5x |
Sources: prnewswire.com, prnewswire.com
UNISOC Valuation
UNISOC is currently valued at $9.1B, based on its undisclosed-stage round in June 2024. Read the announcement ↗
The $550M round included Guotai Haitong Securities, ICBC Investment, Beijing Jingguorui Equity Investment Fund Management, China Securities, Bank of Communications Capital and 4 other investors.
UNISOC's valuation has grown 1.2x from $7.5B at its strategic investment round in September 2014 to $9.1B in June 2024, across 5 priced rounds.
UNISOC valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2024 | Undisclosed stage | $9.1B | 5.1x |
| Apr 2021 | Undisclosed stage | $9.3B | - |
| May 2020 | Secondary | $7B | - |
| Mar 2020 | Undisclosed stage | $7.8B | - |
| Sep 2014 | Strategic investment | $7.5B | - |
UNISOC Revenue
UNISOC's latest recorded revenue is $1.8B, as of its undisclosed-stage round in November 2024.
Revenue grew from $1.8B in June 2024 to $1.8B in November 2024.
UNISOC revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2024 | $1.8B | - | - | Undisclosed stage |
| Jun 2024 | $1.8B | $9.1B | 5.1x | Undisclosed stage |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
UNISOC Funding History
UNISOC has raised a total of $5.5B across 7 funding rounds, plus 1 secondary share sale.
UNISOC's first fundraising round was a undisclosed-stage round in March 2010. The most recent completed round was a $276M undisclosed-stage round in November 2024.
UNISOC funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2024 | Undisclosed stage | Hua Capital (lead) | $276M | - | UNISOC announced at its global partner conference in November 2024 that, on top of the CNY 4 billion equity round completed that September, it would complete a further capital increase of nearly CNY 2 billion. The sole investor was Yuanhe Puhua (formerly Hua Capital), the semiconductor investment firm led by UNISOC director and chief strategy adviser Chen Datong, who co-founded Spreadtrum in 2001. Yuanhe Puhua invested through three Suzhou partnerships that together held about 2.69% of UNISOC afterwards, and listed chip companies such as GigaDevice and JCET participate indirectly through them. The proceeds were earmarked for new 5G, satellite communications, automotive electronics and wearable chips and for hiring technical talent. With this round UNISOC's post-2023 equity fundraising reached almost CNY 6 billion; it converted into a joint-stock company in March 2025 in preparation for a STAR Market listing. UNISOC, headquartered in Shanghai and controlled by New Unigroup, reported revenue of more than CNY 13 billion in 2023 and CNY 14.5 billion in 2024, when it shipped over 1.6 billion chips. |
| Jun 2024 | Undisclosed stage | Guotai Haitong Securities; ICBC Investment; Beijing Jingguorui Equity Investment Fund Management; China Securities; Bank of Communications Capital; Hony Capital; Guotai Haitong Kaiyuan Investment; Country Garden Venture Capital; PICC Capital Investment Management | $550M | $9.1B | UNISOC raised RMB 4 billion in a pre-listing round announced in June 2024, with the proceeds reported as fully received by September of that year. The investors were state capital platforms from Shanghai and Beijing together with the bank investment arms 工银金融资产投资 and 交银金融资产投资, the insurer vehicle PICC Capital, the securities houses China Securities and Guotai Junan, and Hony Capital. Chinese reporting put the post-money valuation at about RMB 66 billion. The round was raised as the company worked towards a listing on the Shanghai STAR Market. UNISOC was formed in Shanghai from Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics and designs mobile chipsets, baseband processors and radio-frequency front-end components. Its chips are used in smartphones, feature phones, tablets, smart televisions and internet-of-things devices, and the company is the main domestic Chinese alternative to Qualcomm and MediaTek in mobile application processors. The capital was intended to support development of advanced 5G platforms. |
| Apr 2021 | Undisclosed stage | Guosheng Capital (lead); Sairui Capital; Haier Financial Holdings; Country Garden Venture Capital | $827M | $9.3B | UNISOC announced on 16 April 2021 that it had completed a pre-listing financing of CNY 5.35 billion. The round was subscribed entirely by four existing shareholders: Shanghai Guosheng Capital, Country Garden Venture Capital, Haier Financial Holdings and Sairui Capital. Chinese reporting put the post-money valuation at about CNY 60 billion, up from the CNY 55 billion post-money of the 2020 restructuring led by the Big Fund Phase II. At the time the company was optimising its shareholding and organisational structure to prepare a listing on the Shanghai STAR Market, a plan later delayed when parent Tsinghua Unigroup entered bankruptcy reorganisation in July 2021. UNISOC, headquartered in Shanghai and formed from Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, designs 2G to 5G baseband and smartphone processors, RF front-end, connectivity and IoT chips. Around the round it relaunched its 5G mobile platforms under the Tanggula brand. Its revenue rose 78% to CNY 11.7 billion in 2021. |
| May 2020 | Secondary | Three Gorges Capital; Country Garden Venture Capital | $1B | $7B | As part of UNISOC's 2020 equity restructuring, its controlling shareholder Zhanxun Investment, a Tsinghua Unigroup vehicle, signed share transfer agreements with 22 investors by 6 May 2020. The buyers acquired a combined 13.39% of UNISOC, measured on the enlarged registered capital, for CNY 7.366 billion. The price was set on a state-asset-registered appraisal that put UNISOC's pre-money valuation at CNY 50 billion. Named buyers included Three Gorges Capital, Country Garden Venture Capital, CITIC Securities Investment, Haitou International, a Guangzhou state-owned innovation fund, the Tsinghua University Education Foundation and Zhuji Wenming Quanying Investment. The share sale ran alongside a CNY 5 billion capital increase by the Big Fund Phase II, the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund and Zhuji Wenming Quanying, after which Zhanxun Investment kept 38.56% and control of the company. Together the two legs raised more than CNY 12.3 billion and broadened the shareholder base ahead of a planned STAR Market listing. UNISOC, formed from Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, designs mobile and IoT chipsets from its base in Shanghai. |
| Mar 2020 | Undisclosed stage | China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (CICF) (lead); Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Management | $712M | $7.8B | UNISOC completed a restructuring of its share capital in the spring of 2020 that combined a primary capital increase with a sale of existing shares by its controlling holder. The state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (Big Fund) Phase II, the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund and Zhuji Wenming Quanying Investment together subscribed CNY 5 billion of new capital for 9.09% of the enlarged company, at a pre-money valuation of CNY 50 billion. The Big Fund Phase II and Shanghai state capital each contributed CNY 2.25 billion, and the deal was the first investment made by the second phase of the Big Fund. In parallel, the controlling shareholder Zhanxun Investment sold 13.39% of the company to 22 investors for CNY 7.366 billion. After the transaction the registered capital rose from CNY 4.2 billion to CNY 4.62 billion and Zhanxun Investment kept a 38.56% controlling stake. The proceeds were earmarked for 5G and internet-of-things research and development ahead of a planned STAR Market listing. UNISOC, then a subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup formed from Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, designs mobile and IoT chipsets from its base in Shanghai. |
| Feb 2015 | Strategic investment | China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (CICF) (lead) | $1.6B | - | In February 2015 the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, the state-backed Big Fund, signed a cooperation agreement with Tsinghua Unigroup to invest up to CNY 10 billion in the group's chip business. The direct target of this first CNY 10 billion was Beijing Zhanrui, the holding company that owned Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics and was later renamed UNISOC. On the same day China Development Bank agreed to provide CNY 20 billion of financing support to Tsinghua Unigroup. It was the first large investment made by the Big Fund after its creation in 2014 to build up China's semiconductor industry. The Big Fund remained one of UNISOC's largest shareholders afterwards, holding about 16.8% before the 2020 capital increase. Spreadtrum and RDA had been taken private by Tsinghua Unigroup in 2013 and 2014, and Intel had agreed in September 2014 to invest in the same holding company. The combined business designs baseband and application processors, connectivity and IoT chips for handset makers in China and emerging markets, and moved its registered seat from Beijing to Shanghai in 2020. |
| Sep 2014 | Strategic investment | Intel (lead) | $1.5B | $7.5B | Intel agreed on 25 September 2014 to invest up to RMB 9 billion (about US$1.5 billion) for a minority stake of approximately 20% in the holding company under Tsinghua Unigroup that owns Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, the business that later became UNISOC. The investment was paired with agreements to jointly develop Intel Architecture and communications-based solutions for mobile phones, to widen adoption of Intel-based devices in China and worldwide. Closing was expected in early 2015, subject to regulatory approvals. Intel ultimately invested US$966 million in 2015, and a planned second investment was later cancelled by mutual agreement; Intel China still held about 14% of UNISOC before the company's 2020 capital increase. Spreadtrum and RDA, taken private by Tsinghua Unigroup in 2013 and 2014 for about US$1.78 billion and US$907 million, developed chipset platforms for smartphones, feature phones and other consumer electronics supporting 2G, 3G and 4G standards. They were integrated under the UNISOC brand in 2018, with headquarters in Shanghai. |
| Mar 2010 | Undisclosed stage | Silver Lake (lead) | - | - | Silver Lake acquired a minority stake in Spreadtrum Communications, the Shanghai-based fabless semiconductor company, in a transaction announced on 25 March 2010. Spreadtrum was then listed on Nasdaq, and the size of the stake and the price were not disclosed in the announcement. The deal was Silver Lake's first investment in a China-based company and the first of several Chinese technology investments it made in 2010 and 2011, followed by Allyes, Nobao and Hillstone Networks. Spreadtrum was one of the few Chinese chip designers listed in the United States and supplied handset makers serving the domestic Chinese market and other emerging markets. Spreadtrum, founded in 2001, designed baseband and radio-frequency processors that combined semiconductor design with software to integrate multimedia and power-management functions, and sold them to mobile phone manufacturers, mainly in China. Silver Lake records Spreadtrum as a partnership from 2010 to 2011. Spreadtrum was taken private by Tsinghua Unigroup in 2013 and later combined with RDA Microelectronics to form UNISOC. |
Who has invested in UNISOC?
18 investors have backed UNISOC across its funding rounds, including Country Garden Venture Capital, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (CICF), Silver Lake, Guotai Haitong Kaiyuan Investment, Intel and Hony Capital.
Lead investors include Hua Capital, Guosheng Capital, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (CICF), Intel and Silver Lake.
UNISOC Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Participant | May 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Feb 2015 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Mar 2010 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Nov 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2014 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2020 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2021 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialUNISOC Competitors
UNISOC competitors include listed companies like Nexchip Semiconductor, ESWIN, United Nova Technology and BIWIN Storage, and private ones like Etched and Fractile.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $1.6B | $741M | $9.1B | 6.6x | ||
| Publicly listed | $398M | $87M | $9.2B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.2B | $324M | $9B | 7.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.7B | $188M | $9B | 2.8x | ||
| Private | - | - | $10B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $7.1B | - |
UNISOC Public Comps
UNISOC is no longer listed, but its public comps include Nexchip Semiconductor, ESWIN, Beijing E-Town, United Nova Technology, BIWIN Storage, Novatek Microelectronics, SCREEN Holdings Co., Shenzhen Techwinsemi, Hubei Dinglong Co and Anhui Tongguan Copper.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.6B | $741M | 7.4x | 6.6x | 16.2x | 14.1x | |||
| $398M | $87M | 23.9x | - | 109.8x | - | |||
| $762M | $132M | 11.3x | 10.6x | 65.2x | 47.7x | |||
| $1.2B | $324M | 8.9x | 7.3x | 33.7x | 16.4x | |||
| $1.7B | $188M | 7.0x | 2.8x | 62.9x | 5.0x | |||
| $3.1B | $603M | 2.5x | 2.2x | 12.6x | 10.3x | |||
| $3.8B | $887M | 2.1x | 1.8x | 9.1x | 7.9x | |||
| $1.6B | $138M | 7.3x | 7.5x | 85.2x | - | |||
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Common questions about UNISOC
| When was UNISOC founded? | UNISOC was founded in 2001. |
| Where is UNISOC headquartered? | UNISOC is headquartered in Shanghai, China. |
| Is UNISOC publicly listed? | No, UNISOC was acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup in July 2013. |
| Who acquired UNISOC? | UNISOC was acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup in July 2013. |
| How much was UNISOC acquired for? | UNISOC was acquired for $1.8B in July 2013, a 2.5x revenue multiple. |
| What is UNISOC's valuation? | UNISOC was last valued at $9.1B in its undisclosed-stage round in June 2024. |
| How much funding has UNISOC raised? | UNISOC has raised $5.5B across 7 funding rounds. |
| What was UNISOC's last funding round? | UNISOC's last funding round was a $276M undisclosed-stage round in November 2024, led by Hua Capital. |
| Who are UNISOC's investors? | UNISOC's investors include Country Garden Venture Capital, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (CICF), Silver Lake, Guotai Haitong Securities, Hua Capital, ICBC Investment, Beijing Jingguorui Equity Investment Fund Management, China Securities, Intel, Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Management and 8 others. |
| What is UNISOC's revenue? | UNISOC's latest recorded revenue is $1.8B (November 2024). |
| Which companies are comparable to UNISOC? | Companies comparable to UNISOC include Nexchip Semiconductor, ESWIN, United Nova Technology, BIWIN Storage, Etched and Fractile. |
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