(Yicai Global) Feb. 16 -- InventChip Technology, a Chinese semiconductor company that focuses on silicon carbide power devices, has established a strategic fund financed exclusively by new energy vehicle manufacturer Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology.

The fund will be used to expand the market, for research and development, to retain talent and for investment in operations, the Shanghai-based firm said today. No details were given of the amounts involved.

InventChip is the first company in China to develop 6-inch silicon carbide metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors and has so far shipped 400,000 units. Compared with silicon, silicon carbide consumes less energy. A silicon carbide device that is only a tenth the size of a silicon device delivers the same performance and consumes a quarter of the energy.

With advantages in conversion efficiency, size and heat dissipation, silicon carbide power devices have been widely applied in industrial and photovoltaic fields, said Vice President Zhang Xiaofeng. There will be growing demand in electric drives, on-board chargers and charging piles.

Last October, InventChip raised hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan (equivalent to tens of millions of US dollars) in Series-A+ and Series A++ financing led by private equity firms Lightspeed China Partners, State Development & Investment and Chongqing Xiaomi Venture Capital.

Editor: Kim Taylor