Zhu Yiming plans to reduce his holdings in GigaDevice, potentially cashing out 2.8 billion yuan!

Ask AI · How will Zhu Yiming’s share reduction affect the semiconductor industry’s layout?

On the evening of April 7, GigaDevice Semiconductor (603986.SH) issued an announcement stating that the company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller, Zhu Yiming, “due to personal funding needs,” plans to reduce the company’s shares by no more than 11.21 million shares between April 30, 2026 and July 29, 2026 through centralized bidding and block trades, which is about 1.60% of the company’s total share capital.

A reduction of no more than 11.21 million shares, corresponding to a market value of about 2.8 billion yuan

According to the share reduction plan disclosed in the announcement, Zhu Yiming intends to reduce no more than 7.00 million shares through centralized bidding, and no more than 4.21 million shares through block trades, for a total of no more than 11.21 million shares, accounting for 1.60% of the company’s total share capital. Based on the closing price of 249.66 yuan on April 7, the proposed shares to be reduced would correspond to a market value of about 2.799 billion yuan.

As of the date this announcement was disclosed, Zhu Yiming directly holds 45.758 million shares of GigaDevice, accounting for about 6.53% of the company’s total share capital; his concerted party, Hong Kong Win for Dede Co., Ltd., holds 13.0535 million shares, accounting for about 1.86% of the company’s total share capital. Together, the two parties hold 58.8115 million shares, with a combined shareholding ratio of 8.39%.

The announcement also shows that the source of the shares Zhu Yiming plans to reduce in this instance is shares obtained before the IPO and shares obtained through block trades. The reduction period is from April 30, 2026 to July 29, 2026. If the listed company has matters such as bonus share distribution, capital reserve to share capital conversion, rights issue, or share repurchase and cancellation, the above proposed number of shares to be reduced and the equity proportion will be adjusted accordingly.

It should be noted that when Zhu Yiming first publicly issued shares and listed GigaDevice, he made related commitments: after the lock-up period expires, within the following two years, the selling price for the reduced shares will not be lower than the issue price; during his tenure, the shares he transfers each year shall not exceed 25% of the total number of shares of the company that he directly and indirectly holds. This proposed share reduction is consistent with the commitments previously disclosed.

GigaDevice stated that this share reduction plan will not have a major impact on the company’s governance structure or continuous operating business, and it will not lead to any change in the controlling right of the listed company. However, during the share reduction period, Zhu Yiming will decide whether to implement the reduction plan and how to implement it based on factors including his own funding needs, market conditions, and the company’s share price, so there are uncertainties regarding the timing, reduction price, and reduction quantity.

According to available information, Zhu Yiming was born in 1972 and is from Yancheng, Jiangsu. He holds dual master’s degrees from Tsinghua University and Stony Brook University in New York State, USA. He returned from Silicon Valley in 2005 to found GigaDevice. In 2018, he joined the DRAM R&D and manufacturing project at ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), and led China’s mainland DRAM industry breakthrough “from zero to one.”

Where will the 2.8 billion yuan go next?

The timing and background of Zhu Yiming’s share reduction have attracted widespread attention in the market.

Not long before the share reduction announcement was released, GigaDevice disclosed its 2025 annual report. For the full year, the company achieved operating revenue of 9.203 billion yuan, up 25.12% year over year; attributable net profit was 1.648 billion yuan, up 49.47% year over year, with strong performance.

In January 2026, GigaDevice also completed its H-share listing, building an “A+H” dual-capital platform, with net proceeds of about HKD 4.611 billion. Of this, 40% will be mainly used to enhance research and development capabilities, and 35% will be used for investments and acquisitions related to strategic industries.

In addition, ChangXin Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “CXMT”), in which Zhu Yiming also serves as chairman, is in the process of an IPO on the STAR Market. CXMT is the only IDM enterprise in China that has achieved large-scale mass production of general-purpose DRAM. Its STAR Market IPO application was accepted by the SSE on December 30, 2025, with a planned fund-raising amount of 295 billion yuan. CXMT is currently temporarily “suspended” due to expired financial data, but this is a technical suspension rather than a “termination.”

Regarding the subsequent use of funds after Zhu Yiming’s share reduction, speculation suggests it may be preparing for GigaDevice’s future M&A expansion in strategic fields such as AI memory and automotive-grade chips.

In November 2024, GigaDevice had previously, together with Stony Brook Capital, Hefei Guotou, and Hefei Industrial Investment, acquired 70% of the shares of the analog chip company Suzhou SAICSAW by cash.

Zhu Yiming’s share reduction may also be to supplement capital for investment companies he controls, so as to promote subsequent external investment projects.

At present, Zhu Yiming holds 51.00% equity in Hefei Qinghui Changxin Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership). This company is the executive affairs partner of Hefei Qinghui Jiti Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as “Qinghui Jiti”). And “Qinghui Jiti” is the first largest shareholder of ChangXin Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “CXMT”), holding 21.67%.

In addition, Zhu Yiming also holds 99% equity in Hefei Qinghui Yide (Huzhou) Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership), and through this company he directly invested in Shenzhen Daxiang Robotics Technology Co., Ltd., and indirectly invested in a number of other technology companies, including Shenzhen Baolian Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Rusen Robotics Technology Co., Ltd.

Summary:

As a leading company in China’s A-share semiconductor sector, GigaDevice’s major shareholder in terms of actual control, Zhu Yiming’s share reduction, has drawn significant market attention. The market generally interprets it from two dimensions: first, as the share sale by a founder and technology leader, it may be viewed as a signal of his judgment that the company’s share price is at a high level; second, if the proceeds from the share reduction are subsequently used to invest in other key semiconductor projects, it is hoped to bring strategic value to GigaDevice through industrial synergy.

Editor: Chips Intelligence—Langke Jian