Recently, MLOptics made an announcement revealing its plans to conduct daily related-party transactions totaling RMB 11.5 million with its affiliate, Maowei Precision Control (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Maowei Precision Control”) in 2026. This will involve purchasing goods worth RMB 9.2 million and selling goods worth RMB 2.3 million to the related party.

While the transaction amount may not seem substantial, it offers a clear glimpse into MLOptics' strategic focus on customization capabilities and the establishment of a precision optics supply chain through business collaboration. At a time when the localization of high-end optical components is accelerating, this announcement not only underscores operational compliance but also highlights a proactive approach by a technology platform company in designing a resilient supply chain.

Delving into the transaction structure, the reciprocal nature of buying and selling positions MLOptics and Maowei Precision Control as classic “mutual customers.” The significantly larger purchase amount compared to sales suggests that Maowei Precision Control supplies MLOptics with customized products, components, or services that are integral to MLOptics' final delivery solutions. Conversely, MLOptics' sales of optical products to the related party indicate that its optical devices or subsystems have become a vital supply link in the other party's business chain.

This bidirectional integration transcends a mere trade transaction; it represents a deep-rooted business collaboration based on a nuanced industrial division of labor. The announcement explicitly states that the transaction is “vital for the company's daily business operations” and “facilitates the supply of customized products and business collaboration,” directly pointing to the core driving force: to sustain a stable output of customization capabilities, a highly controllable and responsive supporting supply chain is indispensable.

Notably, the anticipated procurement amount of RMB 9.2 million constitutes a significant 98% of MLOptics' similar business, underscoring the company's heavy reliance on Maowei Precision Control for specific supporting links. This not only showcases the depth of supply chain collaboration but also highlights a risk dimension that warrants ongoing attention.

The ability of MLOptics to secure such a transaction contract stems from the fact that, in the precision optics industry, high-end optical systems often exhibit strong customization characteristics. Relying entirely on external standardized procurement for such demands would pose challenges in ensuring timely delivery, consistent quality, and responsive technological iteration.

Maowei Precision Control's primary business revolves around the manufacture of specialized equipment for semiconductor devices, high-precision motion control systems, and industrial automatic control system devices. Its core offerings include single-axis linear transmission products and high-precision motion control systems, which are indispensable for upgrading optical systems from mere lens combinations to optical engines capable of precise task execution.

By integrating Maowei Precision Control into its daily supply system through related-party transactions, MLOptics essentially employs market-oriented means to “quasi-internalize” key supporting links. This approach shortens custom development cycles and enhances supply chain flexibility when delivering large-scale complex projects.

This achievement is not driven by administrative coercion but by MLOptics' substantial volume of high-end customized order flow, which provides a continuous and predictable business base for the related party, thereby infusing the collaboration with commercial substance.

Furthermore, this transaction indirectly unveils several business advantages of MLOptics. The first is its vertical integration capability across the entire precision optics supply chain. The fact that it can attract a related company to purchase its optical products indicates that MLOptics' performance and cost-effectiveness in front-end optical devices have been practically validated, possessing external sales competitiveness.

This capability is rooted in the company's long-term endeavors in precision optical devices, optical lenses, and optical systems, amassing profound technical data and process know-how from the design and manufacturing of plane mirrors, spherical mirrors, aspherical mirrors, and complex optomechanical components.

Secondly, MLOptics' positioning advantage in high-end application scenarios, such as semiconductors, provides a demand anchor for such collaboration. Public information reveals that MLOptics' products have penetrated the global semiconductor equipment supply chain, being applied in critical areas like wafer inspection and measurement.

Given the stringent requirements of downstream customers for cleanliness, stability, and lifespan, MLOptics is compelled to establish a customized supply network that can resonate synchronously. Maowei Precision Control plays a pivotal role as a precision node within this network.

Overall, MLOptics' anticipated daily related-party transactions epitomize the mature division of labor in China's precision optics industry. In the past, domestic optical companies primarily focused on cost-effectiveness breakthroughs in individual products. Today, facing systemic opportunity windows in semiconductors, life sciences, metaverse optics, and other fields, leading companies are beginning to revolve around their core optical engines, drawing out a group of specialized and innovative supporting forces to form a highly collaborative and mutually supportive micro-ecosystem.

The fact that Maowei Precision Control can undertake nearly RMB 10 million worth of customized product supply for MLOptics, while MLOptics can also reverse-output its optical products to the same ecosystem, signifies a closed-loop collaboration. Once established, this will significantly amplify MLOptics' solution delivery efficiency and bargaining power in the high-end customized market.

Although RMB 11.5 million may not be a colossal sum, the underlying logic of customized supply it reveals precisely uncovers MLOptics' current competitive edge—providing high-barrier optical solutions through deeply coupled supply chain capabilities.

As more and more professional supporting forces rally around MLOptics, the precision optics moat constructed by the company will become increasingly difficult to replicate. The future indeed looks promising.