Tech war: dreams die for bankrupt Chinese semiconductor start-up Woodson

Woodson, whose main entity is Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor Group, was recently liquidated, according to a court notice released on June 6

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Woodson is the latest tech start-up in China that failed to reach its potential in the semiconductor industry. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:52pm, 26 Jun 2024

The recent collapse of Woodson, a Shanghai-based semiconductor start-up that went bankrupt, is the latest example of how China’s efforts to build local alternatives to the world’s most advanced chips can fail.

Woodson, whose main entity is Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor Group, was liquidated, according to a notice released on June 6 by the city’s Pudong New Area People’s Court.

That marked the end for the firm, which was once an emerging star in China’s semiconductor industry.

The company’s failure showed the difficulties for some Chinese semiconductor start-ups to manoeuvre around US restrictions, which bar mainland enterprises from accessing American-origin technologies from anywhere and even US investments, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The landing page of Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor Group’s website. Photo: SCMP

Formed in 2019, Woodson started operations with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion), announced two projects with a total funding of US$5.5 billion, and actively recruited former executives from Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).

Established at a time when the tech war between Washington and Beijing started to heat up, Woodson was focused on manufacturing integrated circuits for LCD/OLED display drivers, flash memory chips and contact image sensors for cameras.

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