Wang, 46, is the company’s largest shareholder with a 23% stake. Combined with the 1.6% held by his wife Zhang Yanxia, Gpixel’s chief operating officer, his fortune reached the billion mark based on Tuesday’s closing price of HK$97.5 (US$12.45), according to Forbes.

The company raised HK$2.6 billion in its Hong Kong listing on April 17, attracting cornerstone investors including Hillhouse Investment, Boyu Capital, Source Code Capital, and Value Partners.

Wang Xinyang (R), founder and chairman of Gpixel Changchun Microelectronics. Photo courtesy of Gpixel

Gpixel produces CMOS image sensors, semiconductor chips that convert light into electrical signals to form images. These components are used in devices ranging from smartphones and cameras to X-ray systems and industrial robots.

Operating under a fabless model, the company focuses on designing sensors mainly for industrial use, including defect detection in semiconductor manufacturing and robot navigation. Its products are also used in high-end scientific imaging equipment.

Citing a Frost & Sullivan report in its prospectus, Gpixel said it ranked as the world’s third-largest supplier of industrial image sensors in 2024 with a 15.2% market share, behind Japan’s Sony and U.S.-listed Onsemi.

Wang studied applied electronics at China's Zhejiang University before specializing in microelectronics at the University of Southampton in the U.K. He later earned a Ph.D. from Delft University of Technology in Netherlands.

He returned to China and founded Gpixel in 2012 after a brief period working at Belgium-based CMOS image sensor developer CMOSIS. Zhang joined the company in 2013 as marketing director and became chief operating officer in 2018.

Wang is among a growing group of Chinese entrepreneurs building wealth in the robotics supply chain. Others include Howard Huang, founder and chairman of Orbbec, which produces cameras that enable robots to perceive depth similarly to human vision.