Wang Pan, the CEO of Hefei Graphic Microelectronics Technology Co, enrolled as an undergraduate in the field of microelectronics at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2005. Then he did his masters and PhD degrees at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). 

Wang has become a pioneer in mass entrepreneurship and innovation in China since 2015. He and his partners have won valuable awards in various entrepreneurial competitions, and received investments for multiple entrepreneurship TV shows. His team has become the industry leader relying on complete independent research and development. 

Wang Pan, an entrepreneur focusing on intelligent motormeter. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During his sophomore year, he and his classmate Xiang Tianhe won second prize as well as the technology innovation award in the university’s robotics competition. These achievements made Wang more confident and instilled entrepreneurship foundation in the two young people. 

They started business in the latter half of the year 2015, with an investment of 2 million yuan ($292,000). The two and several schoolfellows set up the company, and by now they have five employees who used to be Wang Pan’s university schoolmates. He said that the university has gathered many talented people as well as cutting-edge science and technology, and being a USTC student has made him tremendously proud.

Wang was not eager to join the 2015 heat wave of the Internet like many other entrepreneurs. Then the wave of mobile Internet and Internet of Things followed, but Wang found his business in basic technical support for these industries, namely integrated circuit. 

Regarding the location of the company, Wang said that his alumni resource is concentrated in Anhui province, and the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone has good resources for integrated circuit development. The strong support for innovation and entrepreneurship from the government, the rapid growth of both cars and home appliances industries, and outstanding industrial agglomeration effect all played a part in attracting this young entrepreneur from Hubei province. 

It is easy to find upstream and downstream partners in the development zone, especially in the zone’s China Speech Valley. For example, Wang’s company cooperates with iFly Tek in voice technology, in terms of application scenario, many enterprises are their potential clients, and currently, Wang is in the phase of business negotiation with a company doing intelligent parking. 

Besides the integration of industry chains, there are various bonus policies, promotions and testing platforms for new products, all boosting the rapid development of start-ups in the park, Wang said. 

The company received investment from Suzhou Automotive Research Institute, Tsinghua University within one month of its foundation. It has already won many awards with its advantages in leading technology, such as being the champion in Future Vehicle Global Challenge, champion of the 2016 Intelligent Vehicle Championship of China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, the first prize of 2017 Anhui province Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, champion of the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, and China’s top 50 most valuable companies to investors for 2017.

Wang sees the traditional motormeter as a functional machine and the LCD meter as an intelligent machine. If the car engine breaks down, the traditional ones will have its red fault indicator on. However, most people are not familiarized with what the signal means. Facing the same situation, the new LCD ones clearly show the problem to the drivers with pictures and instructions. At the same time, the LCD meter can also provide information about the nearest 4S shop, which is convenient for car maintenance at once. 

So far, the company has cooperated with many automakers and instrument plants, and its products are applied to mass production of different types of cars. The estimated business volume of the next year may reach 40 million yuan. The company plans to reach IPO scale (Initial Public Offerings) within five years. Wang said they were doing the first generation chips, and in the future they plan to make an upgraded version of artificial intelligence chips.