Charting the Course to Become China's TI - Exclusive Interview with Tang Shiping from ZM Semicon

2025-08-12 14:58:06 183

In the tech industry, Tang Shiping's name might not shine as brightly as some business leaders, but his story is filled with the perseverance and passion of a technologist. From a top student at Tsinghua University to a technical expert at Huawei, from an entrepreneur to the co-founder of ZM Semicon, and now initiating the K-Plan for "Knowledge Co-creation and Sharing, Business Opportunity Co-creation and Win-win," each step he takes is solid and powerful. Recently, our Slkor Micro Semicon editorial team had the privilege of visiting Tang Shiping's office to hear his thoughts on technology, entrepreneurship, and life.

K-Plan Initiator, ZM Semicon Co-founder & Product Director Tang Shiping (Stone Tang)

Mr. Tang Shiping boasts 27 years of deep experience in the hardware field. In 2001, three years after graduating, Tang Shiping moved from Changsha, Hunan to Shenzhen and successfully joined*as a junior hardware engineer. During his 13 years at Huawei, he held positions including Hardware Engineer, Device Expert, Hardware Manager, Cost Manager, DFX Engineering Department Manager, and System Architect SE. He participated in multiple key product projects and planned several chips for HiSilicon, including the SD8602/8603/8802/8803 series. This experience not only accumulated rich technical expertise for him but also gave him a profound understanding of the demands and challenges within the chip industry.

After leaving Huawei, Tang Shiping didn't slow down. Through entrepreneurship, he led his team to complete the design of PLC power line carrier communication chips and modules, successfully applying them to smart lighting and charging pile products. Later, he held significant positions at Tianhexing and HaoPeng Technology, comprehensively organizing chip application solutions for over 10 industries including BMS, power supplies, and motors, and completing the roadmap planning for BMIC and PMIC chip selection. These experiences laid a solid foundation for his subsequent transition into a product manager role.

Tang Shiping at the Tianhexing office

In 2024, Tang Shiping joined ZM Semicon, becoming its Co-founder and Product Director, primarily responsible for product planning, product definition, and commercial market promotion. Not yet 50 years old, he often sets "living healthily to 120 years old" as a goal, loving life while working hard. Therefore, he divides his work and life into A-Plan, K-Plan, and i-Plan, hoping that this structured approach will lead to a healthier life.

A-Plan: Zhongmin Semiconductor's Path of Striving

Tang Shiping categorizes his core work as the A-Plan. As a co-founder, he participated in the company's establishment and development. He states that ZM Semicon is a company focused on the design and R&D of analog and mixed-signal chips. Its products include Battery Management ICs (BMIC) and Power Management ICs (PMIC) such as Analog Front Ends (AFE), fuel gauges, lithium battery protection chips, and lithium battery charging chips. These cover automotive-grade, industrial-grade, and consumer-grade chips, widely used in industries like new energy vehicles, humanoid robots, energy storage, small power devices, smart consumer electronics, low-altitude economy eVTOL, and industrial automation.

Reception area of Shenzhen ZM Semicon Co., Ltd.

ZM Semicon's technical team consists of a Tsinghua University Ph.D. with years of overseas experience and several R&D backbones from renowned chip companies. Chairman Dr. Sun Bo possesses over a decade of experience in the BMIC field, giving Zhongmin a certain advantage in domestic BMIC technology. Currently, ZM Semicon has successfully launched multiple high-performance chips and gained recognition in the market. Tang Shiping proudly states, "We have achieved breakthroughs in key performance indicators for some of our products. Our chips have significant advantages in sampling accuracy, withstand voltage, high-voltage drive capability, etc. Especially in high-side drive technology, we have reached a domestically leading level."

As ZM Semicon's Product Director, Tang Shiping has condensed the company's market promotion philosophy into a slogan: "Standardized chips, platform-based promotion." He explains: "Our chip design emphasizes standardization, allowing for better adaptation to different customer needs. Simultaneously, through a platform-based promotion strategy, we establish close cooperative relationships with customers, providing customized solutions." This strategy not only enhances the product's market competitiveness but also delivers greater value to customers.

The team at ZM Semicon

Discussing Zhongmin's future development, Tang Shiping revealed that the short-term strategic direction is to solidify the business in the consumer and industrial sectors; the mid-term goal is to build up automotive-grade technological capabilities and achieve breakthroughs; the long-term vision is to expand from the BMIC foundation into the PMIC field. "Our goal is to become China's Texas Instruments (TI). Right now, a group of us working together towards this common goal is no easy feat," he said.

K-Plan: The Sentiment and Mission of Knowledge Sharing

If A-Plan represents Tang Shiping's dedication to his career, then K-Plan embodies his passion for the industry. The inspiration for this plan stems from his deep recognition of the importance of knowledge sharing during his time at Huawei. After leaving Huawei, he observed that many SMEs lacked systematic knowledge systems, new employees grew slowly, and industry trial-and-error costs were extremely high. Thus, the idea of building a knowledge-sharing platform to aid the development of the new energy lithium battery industry was born.

The four tiers of the K-Plan

The K-Plan was formally launched in 2024. Tang Shiping divided the knowledge system into five dimensions: A, B, C, D+E, covering raw materials, key technology modules, PACK & application products, system integrators, and the IPD (Integrated Product Development) process. He hopes this platform will transform industry practical experience into shareable intellectual wealth, helping practitioners grow rapidly. To encourage broader participation, Tang Shiping promotes the K-Plan through video live streams, public accounts (WeChat official accounts), and has organized numerous offline training sessions and live events, sharing content on BMS technology, device knowledge, and applications. Companies like Kinghelm and Slkor Micro have also invited Tang Shiping and He Hongxing, co-initiators of the K-Plan, to conduct training sessions. Participants found these sessions highly beneficial, gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of knowledge sharing in the industry.

Tang Shiping conducting K-Plan training at the Kinghelm & Slkor Micro conference room

Speaking about the future of the K-Plan, Tang Shiping stated: "The K-Plan is where my passion lies. Personally, I want to establish a knowledge system and talent cultivation within the industry, building the concept of knowledge co-creation and sharing. Publicly, I hope to achieve business opportunity co-creation and win-win through a technological platform." He reflected emotionally, "Although this process might be very difficult, the K-Plan has value for society, for enterprises, and even for R&D talents just entering the industry. So, even if no one supports me, I will persist for 5 years."

i-Plan: The Path to Health and Life Balance

Beyond work, Tang Shiping places great importance on personal life balance and health. He calls this part the "i-Plan," emphasizing that health is the cornerstone of life and self-care is paramount. "Without a healthy body, everything else is meaningless," he asserts. He practices Ba Duan Jin (Eight Section Brocade) daily and organizes an outdoor hiking group that walks from Phoenix Mountain to Nan'ao weekly, completing the route in 20 segments. "In the office, I also often organize young colleagues to practice Ba Duan Jin together, letting everyone get some exercise," he said with a smile.

Tang Shiping practicing Ba Duan Jin in his office daily

In his leisure time, Tang Shiping also enjoys reading, especially science fiction. "We read very fast nowadays. For example, I finished all three books of 'The Three-Body Problem' in about two months," he admitted. He confesses to being as direct as a "Sanren" (Three-Body person) in speech, but this frankness is underpinned by a deep love for and reflection on life.

Interviewing Mr. Tang Shiping is like listening to a senior recount his technological life journey. His story tells us that the power of technology lies not only in innovation but also in sharing; and the power of passion can transcend the coldness of technology, warming the heart of every dream pursuer. Whether it's the technological deep dive of the A-Plan, the knowledge sharing of the K-Plan, or the life balance of the i-Plan, Tang Shiping uses action to interpret the professional spirit of "love what you do" and "live and learn." Today, he is still working tirelessly for innovation and knowledge sharing in China's chip industry. We look forward to the day the K-Plan platform officially launches, the day ZM Semicon achieves its goal of becoming the "Eastern Texas Instruments," and we also look forward to seeing more technologists like Tang Shiping illuminate the future of the industry with passion and perseverance.

Exclusive Interview

Prev:: Direct drop-in Replacement: Slkor 2N7002 N-Channel MOSFET Matches Onsemi 2N7002LT1G Specs

Next:: Driving Innovation: Kinghelm and Slkor Forge Digital Pathways in Electronics

Charting the Course to Become China's TI - Exclusive Interview with Tang Shiping from ZM Semicon

Advisory Service