As chips continue to shrink in size and become more highly integrated, the heat they generate has evolved into a "burning obstacle" impeding industry progress. In this silent race for thermal management technology, Nanjing Ruiwei New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ruiwei New Materials"), a direct investment company of Nanjing Venture Capital Group, has unveiled a groundbreaking solution: leveraging nature's hardest material to tackle the most critical heat-related challenges in the tech world.
As a key industrial incubation project of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the company has pioneered a heat dissipation revolution centered on diamond-based innovation, integrating material science, efficiency enhancement, and system integration. This breakthrough has not only achieved a remarkable leap from lab research to large-scale production but also empowered "China's chips" to gain a competitive edge in the intense global arena.
"Dripping Water Pierces the Lotus"
Stepping into the product exhibition hall of Ruiwei New Materials, an array of heat sinks in various shapes is on display—the smallest no larger than a grain of rice, the biggest comparable to a smartphone. These seemingly ordinary metal plates conceal extraordinary innovation: crafted from raw diamond substrates, they provide revolutionary heat dissipation solutions for next-generation chips.
Heat dissipation has long been the "Achilles' heel" of chip technology. Industry data reveals that over 50% of chip failures stem from inadequate heat transfer or performance degradation due to rising temperatures. When chips operate above 70°C, every 10°C increase reduces their reliability by 50%. As chip power density continues to climb, thermal management bottlenecks have become an urgent industry-wide challenge.
Traditional heat dissipation materials now struggle to meet the demands of high-performance chips. Diamond—the material with the highest thermal conductivity in the world—has emerged as the ideal choice for next-generation thermal management. However, seamlessly integrating diamond with metals like copper or aluminum while overcoming interfacial thermal resistance and achieving cost-effective mass production remains the core challenge for research teams.
In the product exhibition hall of Ruiwei New Materials, heat sinks of various sizes are displayed—the smallest as tiny as a grain of rice, the largest comparable to a smartphone. These seemingly ordinary metal plates conceal groundbreaking innovation: they are made from raw diamond substrates, providing revolutionary heat dissipation solutions for next-generation chips.
Heat dissipation has long been the "Achilles' heel" of chip technology. Industry data indicates that over 50% of chip failures result from inadequate heat transfer or performance degradation caused by rising temperatures. For every 10°C increase beyond 70°C, chip reliability drops by 50%. As chip power density continues to rise, thermal management has become a critical industry-wide challenge.
Traditional cooling materials now fall short in meeting the demands of high-performance chips. Diamond—the material with the highest natural thermal conductivity—has emerged as the ideal choice for next-generation thermal management. However, seamlessly integrating diamond with metals like copper or aluminum while overcoming interfacial thermal resistance and achieving cost-effective mass production remains the core challenge for research teams.
"Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material. Bonding it firmly with metals like copper or aluminum is like trying to make water droplets adhere to a lotus leaf—seemingly within reach yet fundamentally incompatible," said Wang Changrui, Chairman of Ruiwei New Materials, using this analogy to highlight the core difficulty in material development.
After years of tackling key technological challenges, Ruiwei New Materials developed a proprietary preparation process that not only resolves the issues of diamond-metal composite fabrication but also achieves large-scale production. These heat sinks combine diamond with aluminum or copper. "When a bare chip is soldered onto such a heat sink, the generated heat is rapidly dissipated, ensuring reliable operation of the core component," Wang explained.
"Just as a droplet eventually penetrates a lotus leaf, our technology has overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers," Wang noted. The company’s products address chip thermal issues through material innovation, offering thermal conductivity more than double that of traditional materials. Additionally, the process simplifies conventional heat dissipation structures by integrating the carrier and housing, reducing thermal resistance and further improving efficiency.
The company’s heat dissipation technology has now advanced to its third generation. The new SBS product is a high-performance heat sink material with a five-layer composite structure: a copper-molybdenum core clad with pure copper on both sides. It exhibits high thermal conductivity, low expansion coefficients, and maintains reliability even under extreme thermal cycling conditions.
"Seven-Day Miracle"
Turn the clock back to December 24, 2021, when Ruiwei New Materials was officially established. No one could have predicted that this startup team, led by a professor from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, would achieve an astonishing leap from the laboratory to the production line in just three years.
"If it's possible, it must be done"—this corporate slogan, often repeated by employees, originated from a thrilling extreme challenge. In the company’s early days, a traditional heat dissipation material used by a military research institute suddenly encountered quality issues, urgently requiring a change in suppliers. Faced with Ruiwei New Materials’ inquiry, the client issued a "military order": "If you can deliver the finished product within a week, we’ll collaborate."
"The normal delivery cycle takes 2-3 weeks, but the client only gave us 7 days." Wang Changrui vividly recalls this race against time. To meet the deadline, he and his team worked tirelessly for six days and nights. Finally, as dawn broke on the seventh day, they presented the client with hundreds of diamond heat sink sheets gleaming with a metallic luster, delivered on time and with performance metrics far exceeding the client’s expectations.
This remarkable "breakthrough battle" not only opened the door to the stringent military market for Ruiwei New Materials but also forged a "special forces" team capable of taking on tough challenges. A glance at the company’s performance report reveals a set of particularly impressive figures: in 2021, the year of its establishment, the company achieved an output value of over 1 million yuan; in 2022, it steadily climbed to 2 million yuan; in 2023, it surged to 17 million yuan; and in 2024, it has already exceeded 50 million yuan. Such a growth trajectory is rare in the hard-tech startup sector.
When discussing the "Ruiwei Speed," Wang Changrui attributes it to two key factors: a decade of meticulous technological refinement and a precise understanding of market pain points. During his doctoral studies at Harbin Institute of Technology, he delved into the microscopic world of diamond composite materials. His years of experience at China Electronics Technology Group Corporation No. 14 Research Institute provided him with deep insights into industry challenges and practical applications. His teaching and research career at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics enabled him to achieve the final breakthrough in technology commercialization.
Behind this remarkable transformation lies the evolution of a scholar who once focused solely on research into someone who now simultaneously manages multiple fronts: tackling R&D challenges, overseeing production, expanding markets, and engaging with capital investors. In the eyes of his employees, Wang Changrui is renowned as a "dedicated workaholic" and a "frequent flyer"—working an average of 18 hours a day, barely taking any days off throughout the year, and even setting a record for two round trips between Nanjing, Wuxi, and Chengdu in a single day.
The hardships of entrepreneurship have left a profound mark on him. Compared to photos from three years ago, his once jet-black, thick hair has now turned seventy percent gray, yet his determination and passion remain undiminished. "Resigning to start a business requires courage, but even more, it requires a genuine love for the mission," Wang admits. On the scale of his life, solving the "bottleneck" challenge of chip heat dissipation far outweighs the comfort and security of an ivory tower.
As a critical component of the semiconductor industry chain, chip heat sink technology was long monopolized by Japanese and American companies. Ruiwei New Materials' independently developed diamond-metal composite material has not only filled a domestic technological gap but also broken through the "technological ceiling." It significantly enhances the lifespan and application scenarios of chips, paving an upward trajectory for China’s semiconductor industry chain.
"Turning Stone into Gold"
In 2025, Ruiwei New Materials has stepped onto the innovation stage with even greater brilliance. The company not only secured a place on the inaugural Forbes China Top 100 Investable Startups list but also successfully obtained a new round of funding from prominent investment institutions such as Legend Capital and CRRC Capital. This dual recognition underscores the market’s strong confidence in its ability to break through technological barriers and its growth potential.
Guided by its unique "Diamond+" strategy, Ruiwei New Materials is accelerating the construction of its technological moat. Innovation is unfolding along three strategic axes:
First, breaking away from the conventional approach of combining diamond with copper or aluminum composites. "While the industry is focused on enhancing conductivity, we have begun reverse engineering insulating composite materials using 'diamond + other materials,' unlocking entirely new application scenarios through reverse thinking."
Second, transitioning from a material supplier to a provider of comprehensive system solutions. This involves offering end-to-end thermal management solutions for chip heat dissipation, including system thermal design, structural design, thermal simulation analysis, custom development, and comprehensive thermal testing.
Third, focusing on the in-depth development of pure diamond materials, continuously expanding application boundaries in line with downstream industry trends, and moving up the value chain.
This multi-dimensional technological framework is unlocking a highly imaginative market. Currently, the company has already partnered with ten major military-industrial enterprises, including China Electronics Technology Group and Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, as well as leading civilian companies. Its products already support batch production of thermal management materials across multiple varieties and broad application areas. In the future, the company’s products will also expand into fields such as 5G, new energy power generation, high-power optoelectronic devices, power electronics, IGBT, and new energy vehicles. "For example, 5G base stations consume significant energy. Our technology can enable 5G base station equipment to operate 24/7 without interruption, with a lifespan increased by 3 to 5 times," Wang Changrui explained.
A relevant official from the Investment Department V of Nanjing Innovation Investment Group stated that in August 2024, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, through its managed Zijin Xinchuang (Nanjing) Venture Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), jointly invested tens of millions of yuan in Ruiwei New Materials alongside Yida Capital and Kaifu Capital. After completing the investment, the Innovation Investment Group continued to connect Ruiwei New Materials with industrial resources and build bridges for upstream and downstream cooperation, significantly accelerating the company’s market expansion in civilian optical communications, power electronics, laser technology, and other fields. With the continuous growth in demand for high-performance heat sink materials in China, coupled with the increasing technological maturity and further cost reduction of diamond heat sink products, the future market prospects are expected to be even broader.
From Wang Changrui’s perspective, the participation of top-tier investment institutions has not only provided a solid financial foundation for Ruiwei New Materials’ development but also brought international management experience and forward-looking industry insights. This has helped the company achieve scientific management and transparent operations while deeply empowering its business growth.
Standing at the intersection of capital and industry, Ruiwei New Materials has outlined a clear development blueprint: by 2026, it aims to achieve an annual production capacity of 10 to 12 million pieces and exceed 500 million yuan in revenue. The company is committed to becoming a leader in thermal solutions, continuing to use diamond—the hardest natural material—as its brush to unleash innovation across the vast frontier of materials science and forge a "sizzling hot" industrial future.
Source: Innovation Investment Group
Reviewed by: Xue Yao
Published by: You Yi
