According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Guotai Junan Securities released a research report stating that as testing machines serve as the shovel link for AI computing power, with the increasing complexity of GPU and HBM chips, the value of a single machine is rising, accompanied by the rapid increase in computing power chips. Therefore, the correlation between testing machines and AI computing power chips is extremely high, leading to simultaneous increases in both volume and price. In the 2023-2024 era of AI infrastructure in the United States, Advantest, bound to NVIDIA, has seen significant growth in performance. In this round of AI infrastructure in China, domestic testing machine manufacturers are also expected to experience rapid growth, and the industry is given an &#34;overweight&#34; rating. In terms of targets, it recommends Accotest (688200.SH), SEICHITECH (688627.SH), and CCTech (300604.SZ).
<h2>Guotai Junan's main points are as follows:</h2>
Testing machines are centered around boards and software, with extremely high customer stickiness
<ol>
<li>Testing machines are mainly used to detect chip functions and performance. Wafer testing requires the use of testing machines and probe stations, while finished product testing requires testing machines and sorting machines; 2) The correspondence between the testing machine's boards and software programs is the core logic for achieving high-precision and high-efficiency testing. Different testing boards are selected based on the chip's functional characteristics, and corresponding testing programs are written. Testing machines require self-developed chips, including core control chips and digital board functional modules; 3) The software ecosystem creates customer usage habits and significant historical code migration costs, leading customers to generally not switch testing machine manufacturers. In the selection of testing machines, design companies generally hold the decision-making power.</li>
</ol>
Testing machines serve as the shovel link for computing power, with AI driving rapid demand explosion, and the overall industry is in a state of dual oligopoly
1) Market space: The market for SoC and storage testing machines benefits from significant growth driven by AI, with SoC testing machine growth coming from computing power cards, approximately USD 1.5 billion, growing by 50%. The increasing complexity of computing power cards and rising demand will lead to simultaneous increases in both volume and price for testing machines. According to data from Teradyne and Advantest, the global SoC testing machine market is USD 3.3 billion in 2023, expected to grow to USD 4.8 billion by 2025, while the global storage testing machine market is USD 1.1 billion in 2023, expected to grow to USD 2.2 billion by 2025.
2) Competitive landscape: The semiconductor testing machine market has long been in a dual oligopoly position, mainly held by Teradyne and Advantest. Currently, Advantest's market share is over 50%, while Teradyne's is between 30%-40%. Advantest's market share has significantly increased from 47% in the 2021 fiscal year to 58% in the 2023 fiscal year due to its partnership with NVIDIA.
Overall domestic progress is relatively slow, mainly concentrated in the analog testing machine field, with little progress in digital testing machines and storage testing machines, while Accotest has made relatively rapid progress
1) Analog testing machines: Accotest and CCTech have achieved a high localization rate, being basically self-sufficient; 2) Digital testing machines: CCTech has grown rapidly in the mobile SoC field, with a main frequency above 1.6GHz; Accotest's 8600 is currently in the customer verification stage, mainly targeting high-performance chips; 3) Storage testing machines: SEICHITECH's FT testing machine uses dedicated ASICs, achieving 9Gbps signal output and correction, with the number of system channels being 1.5 times that of similar foreign products, applicable for testing finished products of DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR4, LPDDR5 chips, currently under verification at customer sites
Risk Warning
Product progress is below expectations; testing mechanism penalties exceed expectations

601211

02611

688200

688627

300604

Guotai Junan Securities released a research report indicating that the value and output of testing machines in the AI computing power shovel segment are rapidly increasing with the rising complexity of GPU and HBM chips. It is expected that the performance of domestic testing machine manufacturers will grow rapidly, and the industry is given an overweight rating. Recommended targets include Accotest, SEICHITECH, and CCTech. Testing machines play an important role in chip testing, and the market space is rapidly expanding due to AI demand, with the SoC and storage testing machine markets expected to grow significantly

Zhitong

Guotai Haitong

GTHT

Accotest

SEICHITECH

CCTech

Teradyne

Semiconductor

NVIDIA

YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF

GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF

Guotai Junan Securities: AI computing power shovel segment domestic testing machines open a new era