Anhui's richest person invested in a company in which Ge Weidong holds shares.

Ask AI · What strategic considerations does Sunshine Power have when investing in Gejian Semiconductor?

Over the past period, the global energy storage market has been experiencing a new wave of explosive growth, with both volume and prices rising, and the secondary market has also triggered a wave of wealth creation.

Sunshine Power is one of the beneficiaries. Since August 2025, the company’s stock price has soared like a runaway horse, rising from around 70 yuan to a peak of 209.88 yuan in November 2025. Although it later retreated, it has remained at a high level. As of the close on March 26, the stock price was 166 yuan per share, with a total market capitalization of 344.15 billion yuan.

Along with the rising stock price, the personal net worth of the company’s founder and chairman, Cao Renxian, has also increased significantly. Based on his 30.58% stake, Cao Renxian’s net worth is now as high as 105.2 billion yuan, a substantial increase of over 37.7 billion yuan compared to the 67.5 billion yuan listed in the 2025 Hurun Rich List at the end of last year.

As Anhui’s richest person, Cao Renxian and Sunshine Power have always attracted market attention. Recently, his latest move has come to light—on March 19, Gejian Semiconductor announced the completion of a new round of financing, with Sunshine Power serving as the lead investor.

Currently, there is limited public information about Gejian Semiconductor, and its industry is not the core business of Sunshine Power. So what makes this company so attractive to Anhui’s richest man?

Focusing on upstream core components; Ge Weidong as the second-largest shareholder

Public information shows that Gejian Semiconductor was founded in 2022, headquartered in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, and is a company focused on designing high-end real-time control DSP chips.

A real-time control DSP chip is a microprocessor capable of processing digital signals in real time. Compared to traditional CPUs and GPUs, DSP chips are more efficient at handling specific types of signals—especially complex multiplication, division, and multi-algorithm tasks—making them widely used in communications, computers, consumer electronics, industrial control, and other fields.

Sunshine Power’s main businesses—photovoltaic inverters and energy storage systems—are essentially energy conversion and control devices. Their core function is to convert DC into AC and to efficiently schedule and manage electrical energy. In this complex energy conversion process, DSP chips often serve as key components, directly influencing the efficiency of energy conversion, grid adaptability, and system response speed.

This strong technical connection makes Sunshine Power’s investment in Gejian Semiconductor seem logical—appearing as a cross-industry move, but actually representing a strategic upstream industry chain layout centered on its core business.

It is worth noting that, besides business synergy, the shareholder list of Gejian Semiconductor also includes private equity heavyweight Ge Weidong.

As early as the company’s founding, Ge Weidong invested in Gejian Semiconductor in his personal capacity. Later, in January 2023 and May 2024, through his firm Chaos Investment, he continued to participate in the company’s angel and Pre-A rounds of financing. To date, Ge Weidong owns 20.13% of the shares, making him the second-largest shareholder.

Ge Weidong has always favored semiconductor projects. According to CVSource data from Tou Zhong Jia Chuan, he has invested in 36 companies through Chaos Investment, with 23 of those being semiconductor firms. His investment track record includes four IPOs: Huizhix Micro, Haiguang Information, Wingtech Technology, and Muxi Shares.

In the primary market, following successful investment institutions’ “copying” strategies has been a common approach for new entrants seeking a path forward.

Additionally, Sunshine Power and Ge Weidong both belong to the “Hefei industrial investment circle.” In April 2024, Chaos Investment, together with Hefei Venture Capital Guidance Fund, Hefei Industry Investment, and CICC Capital, established a 1 billion yuan new fund—the Hefei Shixi Zhaoyi Chuangzhi Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership). Meanwhile, the Sunshine Renfa Carbon Neutrality Fund managed by Sunshine Power’s CVC, Renfa Investment, also has backing from local state-owned entities such as the Hefei Venture Capital Guidance Fund.

This overlap suggests that their “co-appearance” is less coincidental.

Sunshine Power: a veteran in primary market investments

As previously mentioned, Sunshine Power has long been active in equity investments, with extensive experience in direct investments and as an LP.

According to CVSource data, Sunshine Power has completed 30 direct investment deals. Before Gejian Semiconductor, it invested in companies such as Akumen Semiconductor, Xinlian Power, and ZK Motong.

Since 2020, Sunshine Power established its CVC—Renfa Investment. Currently, Renfa manages 20 funds, with 67 investment events and investments in 57 companies. Its investment focus covers new energy, battery and energy storage technologies, new materials, machinery, and semiconductors.

In addition to direct investments, Sunshine Power also invests as an LP in multiple funds. For example, in November 2025, it co-founded the Hangzhou Xiaodian New Energy Venture Capital Partnership with the Xiaoshan Venture Capital Guidance Fund and CICC Capital, with a scale of 1 billion yuan. Previously, Sunshine Power and Renfa Investment had partnered with institutions like Hangzhou Capital to establish a 1 billion yuan new energy industry fund, investing in Zhejiang and Hangzhou projects.

For industry capital, ample and flexible funds are the foundation of its active presence in the primary market. Currently, the company is at a “peak” in both stock price and performance.

According to the latest financial report, in the first three quarters of 2025, Sunshine Power achieved total revenue of 66.402 billion yuan, up 32.95% year-over-year, with a net profit of 11.881 billion yuan, up 56.34%. This net profit scale means the company earns over 43.52 million yuan daily.

From the asset perspective, at the end of the reporting period, total assets reached 1206.75 billion yuan, and net cash flow from operating activities was 99.14 billion yuan, indicating a very healthy cash position.

With abundant “ammunition” and at a performance peak, Sunshine Power’s decision to increase investments in the industrial chain is both a strategic move to ride the trend and to prepare for future growth. Its recent stake in Gejian Semiconductor is just the latest step in its long-term industrial layout.

New energy giants are actively crossing into investments

In fact, Sunshine Power is not alone. Many new energy giants are actively participating in equity investments in the primary market.

Eve Energy, a leading power battery and energy storage company, is a typical example. Its earliest investments date back to 2014, when it acquired 50.1% of MacroWell (formerly Simoer International) for 439 million yuan.

MacroWell is the world’s largest manufacturer of atomization equipment, providing core components for many well-known e-cigarette brands. Eve Energy is MacroWell’s lithium battery supplier. This acquisition was essentially an industry chain integration around core supply chain resources.

Since then, Eve Energy’s investment footprint has continued to expand. According to CVSource data, it has made 49 direct investments, totaling over 21.121 billion yuan, and has invested in 38 companies. It also acts as an LP in multiple funds, such as Chengpu Investment, Haisui Investment, Zhemin Investment, and Yunxi Capital.

In the photovoltaic sector, GCL Group is also very active. As an LP, GCL has invested in multiple funds, such as establishing a 13 billion yuan perovskite industry fund with Suzhou, co-investing in the Rongke Xingcai Fund with Chengdu Wutongshu Innovation Fund, and jointly establishing the Shandong Green Development Equity Investment Fund with Shandong and Qingdao state-owned entities and CATL.

Through its CVC arm, Qian Shi Capital, GCL has invested in over 20 upstream and downstream companies, including Huarong Technology, Yuanye Energy, and Huamei New Materials, covering new materials, energy storage, and hydrogen energy.

Beyond these, PV giants like LONGi Green Energy and Trina Solar are also actively deploying equity investments and establishing related industry funds.

From Sunshine Power to Eve Energy, from GCL to LONGi and Trina, these new energy giants are entering the primary market with unprecedented intensity. This trend is driven by industry cycles’ capital dividends and their strategic need for vertical integration along the supply chain.

It is foreseeable that as these industrial capital players enter collectively, the rules of the primary market will quietly change. This will also reshape the competitive landscape of this trillion-dollar industry track.