China’s Naura Becomes World’s Sixth-Largest Chip Machine Maker

The efforts of Chinese chip manufacturers to replace imports are now often hampered by the lack of a sufficient range of equipment available to them. The Chinese manufacturer Naura Technology, however, is demonstrating good success in this area. In terms of revenue among suppliers of lithographic equipment, it has risen from eighth to sixth place in a year.

Image source: Naura Technology

This was reported by the South China Morning Post, citing data from the Chinese research company CINNO. In 2023, Naura Technology entered the top ten for the first time, and last year it was able to approach the middle of this rating, which indicates a high rate of increase in equipment supplies. Naura continues to be the only Chinese company in the top ten largest suppliers of such equipment.

Last year, Naura is expected to have increased its revenue by 40% to $4.4 billion, although exact figures are not yet available. The top 10 chip-making equipment suppliers increased their revenue by an average of 10% to $110 billion last year, leaving the sole Chinese player well ahead in terms of growth. The company’s net profit, according to its own expectations, was expected to increase by 53% to $822 million last year, based on the upper end of the range.

Last December, Naura was blacklisted by the US government along with 140 other Chinese companies and entities suspected of aiding China’s defense industry. In January, the Biden administration expanded export restrictions on emerging technologies that could further complicate the Chinese chipmaker’s life.