ACM Research, Inc.

Business model

• Designs, manufactures and sells advanced semiconductor capital equipment for wafer fabrication and packaging.
• Core focus on yield-critical and performance-sensitive front-end steps (wet cleaning, plating) and expansion into adjacent front-end and back-end processing (furnace, PECVD, Track, electrochemical plating and advanced packaging tools).
• Emphasizes differentiated process technologies, modular platforms and system architectures to improve particle removal, film deposition and process control while addressing cost of ownership, throughput and environmental considerations.
• Primary customers are chip manufacturers (foundry, logic and memory), with a strong emphasis in Asia, particularly mainland China.

Product platforms and key technologies

• Wet cleaning (front end)

  • SAPS (Space Alternated Phase Shift) for flat wafer surfaces.
  • TEBO (Timely Energized Bubble Oscillation) for patterned wafers at advanced nodes.
  • Tahoe technology to reduce sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide use for cost and environmental savings.
  • Semi-critical cleaning products: single-wafer back-side cleaning, scrubbers, auto bench.
  • Modular architecture supports configurable tool configurations for 300 mm, with solutions for 150 mm, 200 mm and non-standard substrates.

• Adjacent front-end/process steps

  • Ultra ECP ap (advanced packaging) and Ultra ECP map (front-end copper plating).
  • Ultra fn Furnace: quartz-based chamber up to 1250°C.
  • Ultra Track: 300 mm tool with uniform air downflow, fast robotics and configurable software.
  • Ultra Pmax PECVD: enhanced film uniformity and lower stress.

• Advanced packaging and back-end processing

  • Ultra C Coater (fully automated, high-throughput coating for photoresist) and related Ultra C Developer, Ultra C PR Megasonic-Assisted Stripper, Ultra C Scrubber, Ultra C Thin Wafer Scrubber, Ultra C Wet Etcher.
  • Broad back-end offerings for wafer assembly and packaging, including coaters, developers, strippers, scrubbers and copper/metal processing tooling.

• Tool pricing

  • Selling prices generally range from about $0.5 million to more than $5 million per tool.

Market position and addressable opportunity

• Estimates current product portfolio addresses approximately $21 billion of the 2025 global wafer fab equipment (WFE) market by sub-segment:
  • Wet cleaning: ~$7.3B
  • PECVD: ~$5.3B
  • Track: ~$3.0B
  • Furnace: ~$2.6B
  • ECP: ~$1.5B
  • Other processing/advanced packaging: >$1.2B
• Gartner: worldwide WFE market grew to $123.9B in 2025 and $138.5B in 2026. China WFE is smaller but remains a meaningful portion of the market.

Customers and revenue concentration

• Revenue by product (2025):
  • Wet cleaning (including Tahoe) and related technologies: $626.0M (69.5%)
  • ECP, Furnace and other technologies: $199.6M (22.1%)
  • Advanced packaging, services and spares: $75.8M (8.4%)
  • Total 2025 revenue: $901.4M
• Historical revenue:
  • 2024 total: $782.2M (wet cleaning $578.9M, 74.0%)
  • 2023 total: $557.8M (wet cleaning $403.9M, 72.4%)
• Customer concentration:
  • 2025: four customers accounted for 52.2% of revenue.
  • 2024: four customers accounted for 52.2% of revenue.
  • 2023: three customers accounted for 45.5% of revenue.
• Revenue by end market (2025):
  • Foundry/Logic/Other: 59%
  • Memory: 27%
  • Advanced Packaging/Wafer Processing: 14%

Geography and manufacturing footprint

• Principal operations in mainland China, with manufacturing and development centered at ACM Lingang’s Shanghai facilities and a Lingang production center.
• Other facilities in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Jiangyin and Wuxi (China); Gwangju, Seongnam and Baekam (Korea); and Hillsboro, Oregon (U.S.) for North America activities.
• Lingang manufacturing center: five-building complex with over 1.485 million sq ft of floor space; additional facilities exceeding 200,000 sq ft.
• Acquired U.S. facility in Hillsboro, Oregon (39,500 sq ft total, including a 5,200 sq ft clean room) to expand U.S. R&D, manufacturing and demonstration capabilities (acquired Oct 1, 2024).

People and organizational structure

• As of December 31, 2025: 2,513 full-time equivalent employees.
  • Administration: 196
  • Manufacturing: 365
  • Research and development: 1,228
  • Sales, marketing and customer services: 724
• Geographic distribution:
  • Mainland China and Taiwan: 2,357
  • Korea: 127
  • United States: 29

Intellectual property

• As of December 31, 2025, owns more than 594 patents across the U.S., mainland China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
  • U.S. patents: 82 issued; 33 pending.
• Patents cover SAPS, TEBO, Tahoe, ECP, wafer preparation and other semiconductor processing technologies, plus embedded IP in Ultra C tools.
• Pursued international patent protection and licensing strategies; has not granted licenses to third parties to date.

Research and development

• Ongoing R&D investment focused on core wet cleaning capabilities (SAPS/TEBO/Tahoe) and expansion into adjacent process steps (furnace, PECVD, track).
• Emphasis on integration across manufacturing steps and potential collaboration with third-party tools.

Revenue performance and sales process

• Historical annual revenue:
  • 2025: $901.4M
  • 2024: $782.2M
  • 2023: $557.8M
• Sales characterized by long qualification cycles, tool evaluation and customer-specific configurations, a high degree of customer concentration and a mix of high-value tools with long lead times.

Other operating context

• Operates in a regulated, global environment with exposure to export controls, sanctions, currency exchange fluctuations and geopolitical factors, particularly related to mainland China and cross-border supply chains.
• ACM Shanghai, ACM Korea and related entities were added to the BIS Entity List, affecting supply chain and export activities; the company maintains ongoing compliance and policy adaptations in response.

Summary

ACM Research is a China-centered semiconductor equipment supplier offering a broad portfolio of front-end wafer cleaning, plating, furnace, PECVD, track and advanced packaging tools. The company reported 2025 revenue of about $901.4 million, employed roughly 2,513 people at year-end 2025 and holds a global patent portfolio of over 594 patents, including 82 issued U.S. patents.