Huawei is behind efforts to turn recently founded chip chemical company Zhuhai Cornerstone Technologies Co (珠海基石科技) into an "end-to-end" supplier capable of competing against the likes of Shin-Etsu Chemical, JSR, Merck, Dupont and Dow, in a radical attempt to develop a fully self-sufficient domestic semiconductor supply chain.
Founded in 2022 and based in Zhuhai, Guangdong, Cornerstone is aiming to provide "turnkey solutions" for nearly all critical materials essential for chipmaking.
Over the past two to three years, it has recruited top talent from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and has also been building its own production lines and developing its own formulas to help Chinese chipmakers cut their reliance on foreign supplies.
Cornerstone is developing photoresists, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) slurries, polishing pads and other critical building blocks for semiconductor manufacturing. High-end photoresists have long been dominated by a few Japanese suppliers, such as Shin-Etsu, JSR and TOK. Similarly, Fujimi, Dow and DuPont have held the leading market positions in slurries and polishing pads for years.
Cornerstone’s ambition is not only to develop one or two kinds of chemicals, but to build and develop a wide range of chemicals that are crucial in all chipmaking processes.
Cornerstone and Shenzhen SiCarrier Technologies, a Huawei-linked semiconductor equipment maker, have the same top legal representative, Yu Hai (余海). Yu serves as executive board director of Cornerstone, while SiCarrier is a major shareholder in the chemical maker.
Another Huawei-linked executive, Xin Xiaohong (辛小红), is listed as Cornerstone's board supervisor. Xin was a longtime executive at Huawei responsible for quality assurance, but it is unclear if he still directly works for the company.
The emerging chemical maker has reportedly received good support from Huawei as well as the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
Cornerstone said its business focus is high-end electronic chemical materials and aims to provide end-to-end material solutions. The company also said it has a world-class research and development team, with over 60% of its researchers holding doctoral degrees.
“China has strong incentives to develop its own chemicals and materials, as it already has a strong chemical industry ... just not yet at the high-end level required for semiconductor manufacturing.”
China was the world's second-largest market for semiconductor materials, behind only Taiwan, in 2024, with South Korea in third. The Chinese market grew 5.3% last year.
China's top chipmakers, including SMIC and CXMT, are aggressively testing and verifying local chemical formulas and materials solutions. The country has been doing well with some critical solutions, including sputtering targets and chemical polish slurries. Domestic players Anji Microelectronics and Konfoong Materials International Co already supply top global chipmaker TSMC.
China's advantage in developing its own chip materials stems from its access to raw materials and its massive domestic market. Chinese chip chemical and material companies are growing more competitive, starting with mid-to-low-end solutions and increasingly venturing into higher-end products.
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