Huapu Science and Technology Completes Over RMB 100 Million Pre-B Financing to Accelerate Domestic LC Leadership

VCBeat has exclusively learned that the company is a domestic full-spectrum platform provider of chromatography equipment, software, and consumables.Acchrom Tech (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Acchrom Tech”)Completed a Pre-B financing round of over RMB 100 million, led byJingguorui FundandBeijing High-Precision Advanced Fund Managed by Beijing Industrial InvestmentCo-led by existing shareholdersHLC, Bridge CapitalCo-investment. The funds raised in this round will be primarily used to further build sales channels both domestically and internationally, and to develop next-generation products.Changhai CapitalContinue to serve as the exclusive financial advisor for the company's financing.

Since its establishment in 2015,Acchrom Tech has established a comprehensive product portfolio comprising HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) systems, UHPLC (Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) systems, along with accompanying software and corresponding consumables.Currently, the installed base of the company’s proprietary-brand instruments in the mainstream chromatography application market has reached a scale of several thousand units. Leveraging its mature and comprehensive compliance-oriented software systems and service framework, Acchrom Tech has established significant competitive advantages in the domestic liquid chromatography sector. It is one of the few manufacturers capable of supplying at scale to standard-setting entities such as Customs, Quality Inspection, and Drug Administration authorities, as well as to key commercial clients including pharmaceutical companies and CROs.

Beyond its existing product portfolio, Acchrom Tech is continuously expanding its product matrix to better achieve platform-based economies of scale. In January this year, Acchrom Tech entered into a strategic partnership with Zhongyuan Huiji to jointly promote the localization of clinical liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry technologies. The company has also collaborated with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and East China University of Science and Technology to deepen industry-academia-research cooperation, jointly exploring new models and pathways for collaborative innovation.

Zhongyuan Huiji and Acchrom Tech Reach Strategic Partnership

Scientific instruments serve as the “eyes” of scientists, and nearly all breakthroughs in scientific research rely on the support of fundamental scientific instrument infrastructure. Meanwhile, scientific instruments act as the “brain” of the equipment manufacturing industry, forming a critical foundation for the high-quality development of emerging industries such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation information technology. In 2024, China’s imports of precision instruments from the United States amounted to RMB 90.982 billion, surpassing those of soybeans (RMB 85.6 billion) and integrated circuits (RMB 83.6 billion), making it an unequivocal area of strategic vulnerability (“chokepoint”).

However, the instrumentation industry itself comprises more than 17,000 product categories, characterized by small scale and fragmentation. Liquid chromatography is the largest single product category within scientific instruments, with extensive applications in pharmaceuticals, food, environmental protection, petrochemicals, and other fields. The domestic installed base market for liquid chromatographs, along with their consumables and services, exceeds RMB 10 billion annually, with over 90% of the market currently monopolized by imported brands.

Liquid Chromatographs Maintain a Persistent Trade Deficit; Image Provided by Acchrom Tech

Therefore, the significance of domesticating liquid chromatography extends beyond merely achieving autonomy in a single life science tool; it serves as a “ballast stone” for safeguarding supply chain security for industrial enterprises, research institutes, and government testing agencies. Excelling in the development of domestically produced liquid chromatography systems means grasping the “key link” in the core field of scientific instruments, thereby ensuring that the baseline of technological security can be maintained in future great-power competition.

Acchrom Tech has adhered to this philosophy, dedicating itself to R&D and accumulating expertise since 2015. Over the past decade, it has built a comprehensive liquid chromatography product platform, along with integrated service and marketing systems. Amid the escalating China-US “trade war,” national and provincial/municipal support policies have been accelerated in their refinement and implementation, while industrial customers’ awareness of supply chain autonomy and security has continuously increased. This has fully accelerated the domestic substitution process for liquid chromatographs, marking a historic turning point in a market landscape long dominated by imports.

In line with the characteristics of the scientific instrument industry—namely, a large overall market, highly specialized segments, diverse product portfolios, and wide-ranging applications—the company has built a comprehensive chromatography product matrix and developed numerous targeted industry-specific application solutions, thereby meeting the varied usage needs of customers across different sectors.

In terms of hardware technology, the localization rate of core components for Acchrom Tech’s chromatographs has exceeded 95%, with a fully autonomous and controllable upstream supply chain that effectively mitigates potential risks arising from trade disputes. The entire R&D and production chain for related consumables, such as chromatography columns, is independently operated, enabling equivalent substitution for imported products, stable mass production, and high cost-effectiveness.

Chromatography software that meets regulatory requirements is a key pillar in building Acchrom Tech’s differentiated competitive advantage. Domestic teams with independent R&D capabilities that can ensure full-process software compliance are exceedingly rare. Leveraging years of technological accumulation and a profound understanding of compliance systems, Acchrom Tech has established significant technical barriers in this field. The software comprises multiple modules, including instrument control, algorithms, and data governance, requiring the convergence of talent from diverse domains such as requirements analysis, development, testing, and application. In both international and domestic drug research, development, and manufacturing processes, chromatography software that satisfies regulatory compliance requirements must be used for process control and data storage. For regulatory authorities, large pharmaceutical companies, and CROs, compliant liquid chromatography software serves as a critical line of defense for product quality.

Chromatography software that meets GxP regulatory compliance requirements has been the primary bottleneck for domestically produced liquid chromatography systems to enter the mainstream market. Given the long development cycle and substantial resource investment required for such software, Acchrom Tech dedicated eight years to rigorous R&D, overcoming this barrier by developing a compliant domestic chromatography control software with fully independent intellectual property rights, full-chain audit trails, and advanced intelligent data analysis capabilities. Aligned with international regulatory standards, the software is currently operating stably across multiple regulatory agencies and commercial clients. In the future, its application can be extended to fields such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography.

Domestic substitution is not a short-term endeavor. To break through the barriers established by imported brands, it is essential not only to build “hard power” through a fully autonomous and controllable product portfolio and solutions across the entire value chain, but also to cultivate “soft power” by leveraging professional, systematic marketing and support service teams.

Acchrom Tech Achieves Broad Customer Coverage Across All Sectors, with Remarkable Growth in Government Agencies and Pharmaceutical Companies. Image provided by Acchrom Tech

Leveraging over a decade of accumulated expertise, Acchrom Tech has established a comprehensive marketing ecosystem encompassing “market leadership, sales operations, industry-specific solutions, and technical after-sales support.” This integrated framework enables the rapid delivery of tailored, end-to-end solutions in response to customer needs, with product lead times, after-sales service, and application support all ranking at an exceptional level within the industry.

Acchrom Tech has adopted “precise positioning in the top-tier market + building vertical-sector solutions” as its core strategy, leveraging “policy-driven benchmark clients” such as customs authorities, quality inspection agencies, and drug administration regulators, along with “commercial benchmark clients” including large pharmaceutical companies and CROs, as key growth engines. This approach has sustained high-level business growth over the past three years. In recent years, Acchrom Tech has achieved remarkable results in its collaborations with benchmark clients: from initial breakthroughs that led to the procurement of dozens of instruments, to this year’s pipeline of over 100 potential orders, with customer repurchase frequency and scale continuing to rise steadily, thereby establishing long-term, stable partnerships.

Looking ahead, Acchrom Tech will be driven by technological innovation, deepen its service system, and continuously explore the potential for collaboration with benchmark clients. The company aims not only to achieve stepwise growth in procurement scale but also to set a paradigm for industry cooperation. By working hand in hand with clients to explore more diversified business scenarios, Acchrom Tech seeks to expand into broader market horizons through mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of the industry.

For this round of financing,Acchrom Tech Founder Wang LichunStatement: We express our gratitude to both new and existing shareholders for their high recognition of Acchrom Tech’s development achievements, which also reflects their strong confidence in our future growth potential. This financing will accelerate the in-depth expansion and systemic upgrading of our domestic and international sales channels, while increasing R&D investment in next-generation core products. By integrating cutting-edge technologies with innovative concepts and continuously iterating product performance, we aim to drive industry transformation through technological breakthroughs, injecting robust momentum into enhancing the global competitiveness of Chinese-made chromatography technologies.

Bao Yida, Investment Manager at Jingguorui FundNote: Jingguorui has always been committed to serving national strategies and resolving “chokehold” challenges in key areas. This investment in Acchrom Tech is grounded in its profound commitment to the strategic imperative of achieving self-reliance in domestic scientific instruments. As the “flagship product” among scientific instruments, the localization of liquid chromatography is not only critical to the supply chain security of trillion-yuan industries such as pharmaceuticals and environmental protection, but also serves as indispensable “infrastructure” in the technological competition between major powers. Over the past decade, Acchrom Tech has honed its expertise, establishing a fully autonomous technological closed loop encompassing hardware, software, and consumables, and launching a new generation of network-based chromatography software that meets international standards—fully validating the investment logic that “hard tech requires long-termism.” We value the company’s dual-drive capability of “technological breakthroughs + deep scenario penetration,” with its product breakthroughs in core application scenarios representing a vivid practice of Beijing’s efforts to cultivate new quality productive forces.

Zhang Shengfeng, Senior Investment Manager at Beijing Industrial InvestmentStatement: The Beijing Advanced and Precision Industry Fund, managed by Beijing Industrial Investment, was jointly initiated by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and the Municipal Finance Bureau. It focuses closely on major national strategic directions and key sectors of Beijing’s advanced and precision industries, making precise investment allocations. As a core category of high-end analytical instruments, liquid chromatographs are essential “must-have” equipment in fields such as biopharmaceuticals, food safety, scientific research, and industry. Due to high technical barriers associated with key components and software systems, the domestic market has long relied on imports. As a practitioner in the independent R&D of domestically produced liquid chromatographs, Acchrom Tech insists on strengthening the self-sufficiency of core components and continuously promotes the transition of domestic instruments from merely “usable” to “highly effective.” It has achieved significant accomplishments in technological breakthroughs, market expansion, and ecosystem development. We are optimistic about Acchrom Tech’s continuous technological iteration and ecosystem integration capabilities, and look forward to its building brand strength through cost-effective products and high-quality services, thereby contributing greater momentum to the development of China’s high-end instrument industry.

Li Wei, Partner at Bridge CapitalBridge Capital upholds the vision of “building a bridge between capital and industry,” firmly believing that advanced manufacturing is the cornerstone of national development, and is resolutely investing in the intelligent manufacturing industrial chain. Domestic liquid chromatography instruments and their compliant data management systems have achieved breakthroughs in key technologies, reaching or surpassing the performance, functionality, and data security levels of comparable imported products, thus possessing full capability to replace imports. Acchrom Tech is one of the few domestic manufacturers with an integrated system for independent software, hardware, and chromatographic separation materials, and has achieved extensive business coverage across various customer segments. In the future, Acchrom Tech has the opportunity to leverage liquid chromatography as its entry point to expand into a broader platform within the scientific instrumentation sector.

Wang Keshu, Partner at Changhai CapitalIt was stated that liquid chromatography is not only a tool for life sciences but also a key component and “entry point” in the scientific instrument race among major powers. Benefiting from long-term R&D and market accumulation, Acchrom Tech has maintained rapid growth for three consecutive years despite the volatile market environment. It is believed that the company can continuously iterate its product technologies and seize market opportunities, enabling customers to use domestically produced liquid chromatography products with confidence and peace of mind.

Jingguorui Fund is the core private equity investment platform under Beijing State-owned Capital Operation and Management Co., Ltd. As of the end of April 2025, the total assets under management (AUM) of the company’s funds approached RMB 85 billion. Its managed funds encompass various types, including PE funds, Beijing regional funds, and four Beijing municipal government guidance funds. The firm focuses on Beijing’s strategic and future industries, with key investments in the information technology sector, robotics, advanced manufacturing, green energy, and the reform of state-owned enterprises and state capital. Jingguorui Fund deeply implements the “Beijing Model,” characterized by “government guidance, market-oriented operations, and ecosystem empowerment.” Its business model combines policy orientation with market flexibility, serving as a core instrument for Beijing to cultivate new quality productive forces and build a modern industrial system through capital linkages. It aims to establish a benchmark paradigm where state-owned industrial funds empower breakthroughs in hard technologies and drive the leapfrog development of industrial clusters.

Beigong Investment is a private equity fund management platform under Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co., Ltd. Over the past two decades, it has focused on Beijing’s high-end, precision, and advanced industries as well as national strategic priorities. Adopting a “fund-of-funds + direct investment” model, Beigong Investment serves as the entrusted manager for fund-of-funds such as the Beijing High-End, Precision, and Advanced Industry Fund and the Jingguosheng Fund, while also initiating and establishing thematic direct-investment funds targeting areas like high-end instrumentation and equipment, “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” (SRDI) enterprises, and the dual-carbon industry. This approach has mobilized a total fund scale exceeding RMB 40 billion for investments in high-end, precision, and advanced industries.Adhering to the philosophy of “tackling hard-tech challenges—strengthening industrial chains—implementing ecosystem scenarios,” Beigong Investment focuses on key sectors including next-generation information technology, integrated circuits, intelligent manufacturing, and equipment. Its portfolio covers benchmark enterprises such as BOE, Loongson Technology, SMIC Northern, Guoqing Technology, and Dongfang Jingyuan. By driving technological breakthroughs in critical fields and fostering the growth of SRDI and unicorn companies, Beigong Investment injects momentum into Beijing’s development as an international science and technology innovation hub and a global benchmark city for the digital economy.

Serving China’s modernization, HLC is dedicated to discovering and realizing the enduring value of science and technology. Leveraging deep expertise in core disciplines such as chemistry, biology, and materials engineering, and grounded in independent, in-depth research and systematic empowerment services, HLC is committed to creating sustained positive impact on productivity transformation and the enhancement of public health through long-term value investments in the real economy and technological innovation. To date, HLC has invested in more than 120 high-quality enterprises, including Mindray Medical, United Imaging Healthcare, Yuwell Medical, Tigermed, Baiyang Pharmaceutical, Pharmaron, Borui Biology, Ecolab Biologicals, Kaiyin Technology, Jianmo Information, and Babo.

Bridge Capital, established in 2009, is a boutique private equity investment management firm specializing in advanced manufacturing, with a strategic focus on sub-sectors such as semiconductors, high-end precision instruments, new energy, and new materials. The company was listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) in September 2015, with the stock code: 833689.OC.

Changhai Capital is a financial advisory firm specializing in the healthcare and advanced manufacturing sectors, providing companies with in-depth, customized financing strategies and services. The team possesses extensive industry experience in life sciences, medical devices, diagnostics, and advanced manufacturing, having led or participated in the financing of numerous high-profile enterprises, thereby assisting them in achieving rapid growth and maximizing their value.

References:

1. “U.S. Tariffs on China Escalate Recklessly: Where Does the Path for Liquid Chromatography Procurement Lead?”

2. “Acchrom Tech Secures Hundreds of Millions in Angel Funding: How Is It Seizing the Wave of Chromatography Localization?”