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Two brothers behind a Chinese semiconductor materials company have become billionaires as China accelerates efforts to build a more self-sufficient chip industry amid ongoing technology restrictions from the United States.
Zhu Shuangquan and Zhu Shunquan, cofounders of Wuhan-based Hubei Dinglong, have seen their fortunes rise sharply after the company’s shares surged nearly 116 percent over the past year. The brothers each own roughly 15 percent of the Shenzhen-listed company, giving them estimated net worths of around $1.3 billion each, according to calculations reported by Forbes.
Hubei Dinglong specializes in materials used throughout semiconductor manufacturing, particularly in a process called chemical mechanical polishing, or CMP. CMP is used to flatten silicon wafers so circuits can be printed accurately and chips can be stacked in advanced designs.
The company says it is currently China’s only supplier offering a full range of CMP materials, including slurries used during polishing and cleaning chemicals that remove residue afterward. These materials are critical for modern chip production and have become increasingly important as China attempts to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
The company expanded aggressively after the United States imposed stricter semiconductor export controls on China in 2022. Dinglong moved into lithography materials, including photoresists used to transfer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers using ultraviolet light. Although its most advanced products are still limited to lower-end chip manufacturing, the expansion represents part of China’s broader push to localize semiconductor supply chains.
Dinglong has also entered the advanced semiconductor packaging market. Its products include temporary bonding adhesives used in chip stacking processes for technologies such as high-bandwidth memory.
Financially, the company has grown rapidly. In the first quarter of 2026, Dinglong reported a 78 percent year-on-year increase in net profit, reaching 251 million yuan, while revenue rose 24 percent to 1 billion yuan. Much of that growth was driven by its semiconductor materials business.
The brothers originally worked at state-owned enterprises before founding Dinglong in 2000. Their initial focus was on chemicals used in printer toner production, an industry then dominated by Japanese and Western firms. After building a strong position in printing materials, the company gradually pivoted toward semiconductor-related products.
Dinglong went public on Shenzhen’s ChiNext technology board in 2010. Two years later, the company expanded into CMP materials after identifying similarities between semiconductor chemical processes and toner chemistry.
China’s semiconductor industry has increasingly become a strategic priority as geopolitical tensions reshape global technology supply chains. Domestic companies producing chipmaking tools, chemicals, and materials have received growing attention from investors as Beijing pushes for greater independence in critical technologies.
For companies like Dinglong, the shift has created significant commercial opportunities in areas once dominated almost entirely by foreign suppliers.