China’s micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) industry is currently the largest in the world, worth an estimated $14.4 billion in 2022 and potentially up to $24.6 billion by 2025. Most MEMS technology is used in the consumer electronics and automotive electronics industries, with over 60% being imported and up to 80% of high-end MEMS products coming from foreign companies. Chinese companies are gradually catching up however, with the current market leader Goertek accounting for 2% of the market share and dozens of other Chinese MEMS companies now entering the field.
Driven by the spike in demand for sensors from the flattening consumer electronics assembly industry, more and more applications for MEMS are being found. Data processing driven by big data and the internet of things (IoT) has recently become commonplace, utilising MEMS sensors in smart factories, smart cities, medical applications, and most of all in electric vehicles (EVs), where up to 100 sensors can now be found.
China’s institutional support for the MEMS industry is gradually increasing, with developmental plans such as the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 2021 Three-Year Action Plan calling for targeted support of temperature, gas, motion, photoelectric, velocity, and biochemical sensors. Likewise, the private sector has been quick to step in, with investments in MEMS shooting up from 43 different investments in 2017 to 144 investments in 2022.
The US sanctions of 2018 had an impact on MEMS, with at least 16 sensor-focused companies being placed under some type of sanction. In addition, while most Chinese MEMS companies have not been affected by sanctions, the February 2021 balloon incident may lead this sector to come under further scrutiny.
Goertek is the leading MEMS provider in China, situated in Beijing and incorporated in 2002. Famous for its success in the audio and microphone space, Goertek is now one of the world’s leading technology companies with market leading products such as audio drivers and MEMS microphones.
One of the founders of Goertek, Li Jianping, has been an important figure in the Chinese tech industry since the company’s inception. As the CTO of Goertek, he has been integral to the company’s success, helping Goertek to establish the ‘Goertek Standard’ for quality within the industry and lead the company’s research and development and investment in new technology. Li Jianping has also been involved in the design of numerous production lines at Goertek and works closely with the MEMS industry throughout China to help foster the development of leading products.
