Zhao Jianhui, the 66-year-old chairman of Epiworld International, joins the billionaire ranks following his company’s $209 million Hong Kong IPO. Zhao Jianhui, the founder and chairman of Epiworld International, joined the billionaire ranks after shares of his Xiamen-based power chip wafer manufacturer jumped 35% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Monday.  The listing values Epiworld at HK$43.8 billion ($5.6 billion) based on its closing price of HK$103 on Monday. Zhao, 66, is Epiworld’s largest shareholder with a 27% stake, which gives him an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion.  Epiworld raised HK$1.6 billion in the initial public offering. The company disclosed in its prospectus that it will use the bulk of the IPO proceeds to expand production capacity in China over the next five years. Epiworld did not respond to a request for comment regarding Zhao’s billionaire status. Established in 2011, Epiworld manufactures epitaxial wafers for silicon carbide (SiC) chips. Epitaxy is the complex process of growing a thin layer of SiC, a combination of silicon and carbon, on a wafer. SiC chips act as a power switch mostly in electric vehicles and increasingly in AI data centers. Compared to traditional silicon chips, SiC chips can withstand higher voltage and extreme heat, thereby reducing power loss. They enable fast EV charging and efficient power delivery for AI chips.  Epiworld is a supplier to power chip companies including Germany’s Infineon Technologies and Japan’s Rohm Semiconductor. In its prospectus, Epiworld said it is the world’s largest SiC epitaxial wafer company by revenue with a 29% market share as of 2024, leading Resonac Holdings’ 26%, citing China Insights Industry Consultancy. It also said it is the world’s first company to achieve large-scale commercialization of 8-inch SiC epitaxial wafers, a generation ahead of today’s commonly used 6-inch wafers.  Epiworld has recently been buffeted by a price war triggered by a supply glut from competitors such as Resonac and Shanghai’s Inventchip Technology. In the first nine months of 2025, Epiworld’s revenue dropped 34% year-on-year to 535 million yuan ($77.4 million) due to “downward price pressure” in the industry. Between December 2024 and September 2025, it nearly halved the average selling price of its 8-inch wafers. With lower margins, net profit in the nine months of 2025 plunged 82% to 21.1 million yuan. During the period, Greater China accounted for nearly two-thirds of its sales, with 22% from South Korea and Japan, followed by Europe and North America.  Epiworld’s pre-IPO investors include Hubble Technology, the venture capital arm of Chinese tech giant Huawei, as well as China Resources Microelectronics, the semiconductor unit of state-owned conglomerate China Resources.  Zhao is a veteran scientist in the field of SiC technology. He is currently a chair professor at the college of physical science and technology at Xiamen University, his alma mater where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics. Zhao also has a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. Zhao is the latest Chinese billionaire to make a fortune from the semiconductor sector. Others include Zhang Xingang, the chairman and CEO of photonic chip maker Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology. Read the full story on Forbes: By Zinnia Lee https://www.forbes.com/sites/zinnialee/2026/03/30/chinese-american-professor-behind-huawei-backed-power-chip-wafer-maker-becomes-billionaire/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices