Introduction: Rarity commands a premium, but what's the size of the market?

Recently, the remarkable surge of Landun Optoelectronics (300862.SZ) has sent a clear message to the market: Don't just stand in the 'light'; remember to bring the tools that create it.

The soaring demand for optical modules, driven by AI computing power, has been the key driver behind the popularity of optical module concept stocks like 'Yi Zhong Tian' in recent times. However, the market previously overlooked the core components of optical modules and the equipment used to manufacture these components, particularly the equipment manufacturers, which act as the 'industrial mother machines' in the upstream sector of optical modules.

Here's an important backdrop: Although Chinese companies dominate seven of the global top 10 optical module manufacturers, with an even stronger market share in the high-speed data communication (800G/1.6T) segment, mainstream equipment manufacturers for the core components of optical modules are still predominantly based overseas. 'Industrial mother machines' with a 'domestic' attribute remain in short supply.

Lanchuang Technology, which Landun Optoelectronics plans to acquire, primarily focuses on the research, development, and sales of high-end vacuum coating equipment. These devices are crucial for manufacturing the core components of optical modules.

Broadly speaking, Lanchuang Technology also falls within the optical communication sector, but it does not sell optical modules or finished optical filters. Instead, it provides production equipment for optical filter factories, operating in the equipment segment upstream of optical communication.

Landun Optoelectronics first announced its acquisition plan on July 28. However, its stock price began to rise on July 21. By August 18, the closing price of Landun Optoelectronics' stock had soared from 15.32 yuan per share to 56.5 yuan per share, accumulating an increase of over 269%, with a total market capitalization of approximately 10.43 billion yuan.

Image Source: Hithink RoyalFlush

Faced with the continuous stock price surge, Landun Optoelectronics stated that from August 10 to August 18, 2026, its stock price had hit the daily limit for five consecutive trading days, surging 197.21% in the short term. This had accumulated significant trading risks and deviated severely from the company's fundamentals. Therefore, the company's stock was suspended from trading on August 19, 2026 (Wednesday), with the suspension expected to last no more than three trading days.

01 Is Lanchuang Technology's Equipment Rare?

First, a note on the background: Currently, most manufacturers capable of producing high-performance vacuum coating equipment are foreign companies, with very few domestic ones.

Among overseas mainstream companies, Germany's Bühler Leybold Optics is a global benchmark for TFF filter equipment, with its core product being the Bühler Leybold IBS1400 series ion beam sputtering equipment. The United States' Veeco is a long-established major player in IBS equipment, while Japan's Optorun holds a strong position in the consumer electronics optics market.

The core production lines used by leading global TFF filter manufacturers for mass-producing DWDM/LWDM ultra-narrowband thin-film filters are generally equipped with IBS ion beam sputtering coating equipment from Germany's Leybold and the United States' Veeco. Filter manufacturers achieve mass production by combining this hardware with their proprietary film stack and process technologies.

When domestic leading filter manufacturers built their high-end TFF production lines in the past, they also procured IBS equipment from Leybold and Veeco.

According to Landun Optoelectronics' 'acquisition plan,' Lanchuang Technology is one of the few domestic high-end equipment manufacturers that have achieved commercial mass production in the ultra-narrowband thin-film filter (TFF) field. It has successfully broken through key process bottlenecks such as thin-film surface defects, with its equipment's comprehensive output and technical stability ranking among the industry's best.

Currently, high-precision magnetron sputtering coating equipment, high-speed IBS (ion beam sputtering) equipment, and ALD (atomic layer deposition) equipment are Lanchuang Technology's main products or key development directions. Only with these high-precision devices can optical filters required in the optical communication field be produced.

For example, high-speed IBS ion beam sputtering equipment, comparable to Germany's Leybold and the United States' Veeco, can be used to produce bare DWDM/LWDM ultra-narrowband TFF filters, making it key equipment for manufacturing 800G/1.6T high-speed data communication optical modules.

However, it should be noted that 800G/1.6T optical modules employ three major parallel architectures: parallel multi-channel without wavelength division, TFF-Z-Block wavelength division, and AWG-PLC wavelength division. TFF is just one of the sub-options.

Within the 8-channel LWDM/MWDM wavelength division architecture, TFF ultra-narrowband thin-film filters (assembled into Z-Block components) are the mainstream solution for modules requiring wavelength division multiplexing, such as 800G FR8 and 1.6T 2FR4.

Across the entire 800G and 1.6T optical module market, the TFF route is not the only option. A significant number of optical modules with DR/VR/SR parallel architectures do not require wavelength division multiplexing and therefore do not use TFF filters at all. Within wavelength division scenarios, AWG arrayed waveguide gratings also serve as an alternative solution.

The IBS/magnetron sputtering coating equipment produced by Lanchuang Technology can be used to manufacture TFF filters, but its corresponding market is not limited to the '800G/1.6T optical module sector.' It also caters to the upstream equipment demand in the LWDM/MWDM wavelength division niche, as well as non-data communication scenarios such as telecommunications DWDM, instrumentation, and medical lasers.

The recent capital market enthusiasm for Landun Optoelectronics' acquisition of Lanchuang Technology in the stock market primarily stems from the popularity of the 'light pursuit' concept. However, whether such a two- to three-fold increase is justified requires individual judgment upon closer analysis.

Additionally, recent moves by major optical module manufacturers to expand production and invest upstream have also heightened investor interest in Lanchuang Technology, as it is also considered a major upstream equipment manufacturer for optical modules.

In June, Dongshan Precision disclosed that its subsidiary, Source Photonics, and its affiliates plan to implement optical chip and optical module expansion projects in Changzhou and other locations, with a total investment of $1.2 billion.

Intersil (Zhongji Innovative) recently announced a proposed acquisition of a 10.47% stake in Jones Tech for 1.747 billion yuan, aiming to address thermal management demands in the supply chain. Previously, its wholly-owned subsidiary, InnoLight (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd., had also invested heavily to become the fourth-largest shareholder of PCB leader Zhen Ding Technology.

Accelink Technologies raised 3.485 billion yuan for projects such as 'optical connectivity for computing centers and high-speed optical transmission product production and construction,' aiming to expand production of high-speed optical modules while providing supporting coherent products, optical switches, and high-density connectors.

HG Tech participated in EML chip design company Yunling Optoelectronics and established a CPO technology platform.

Mingpu Optomagnetics plans to raise no more than 1.283 billion yuan through a private placement, with 788 million yuan earmarked for a high-speed optical module intelligent manufacturing project to establish an 800G/1.6T high-speed data communication optical module production line.

This wave of expansion and investment by optical module manufacturers has naturally attracted more 'light chasers' in the stock market.

02 Three A-Share Platforms Support Yuan Yonggang's 'Optoelectronics Empire'

The actual controllers of Landun Optoelectronics are Yuan Yonggang and his wife, Wang Wenjuan. Already seasoned players in the 'light pursuit' race, they have gradually built an industrial empire spanning optical modules, batteries, and high-end scientific instruments. Besides Landun Optoelectronics, Dongshan Precision and Anfu Technology, which they also control, have drawn more investor attention.

In the optoelectronics sector, Dongshan Precision is the core vehicle for Yuan Yonggang's strategic deployment.

In 2025, Dongshan Precision invested no more than 5.935 billion yuan to acquire a 100% stake in Source Photonics, officially entering the optical module sector. Source Photonics ranked among the top 10 global optical module suppliers.

After the acquisition and consolidation, the optical module business significantly boosted Dongshan Precision's performance. In the first half of 2026, the company expected its net profit attributable to shareholders to reach 2.9-3 billion yuan, surging 282.58%-295.78% year-on-year. The capital market also responded; despite a correction, Dongshan Precision's market capitalization remained around 360 billion yuan. Yuan Yonggang directly held approximately 16.53% of the shares, corresponding to a market value of 59.5 billion yuan.

Driven by the stock price surge due to Dongshan Precision's optical module business, Yuan Fugen's (Yuan Yonggang's father) family's paper wealth reached 44 billion yuan in the '2025 Hurun China Rich List,' ranking 130th nationally. In the '2026 Hurun Global Rich List,' Yuan Fugen's family's wealth had risen to 50.5 billion yuan, ranking 579th.

A similar scenario seems to be unfolding with Landun Optoelectronics. After announcing the acquisition plan for Lanchuang Technology, the company, originally focused on environmental monitoring and meteorological observation and analysis instruments, briefly secured four consecutive 20cm daily limit gains. By the market close on August 18, its total market capitalization had surpassed 10 billion yuan.

Notably, Landun Optoelectronics faces fundamental pressures. It reported a net loss of 88.7665 million yuan in 2025 and continued to incur a loss of 8.6643 million yuan in the first quarter of 2026. In contrast, Lanchuang Technology demonstrated strong growth, achieving a net profit of 102 million yuan in the first half of 2026. If the transaction is completed, Landun Optoelectronics will add a high-end coating equipment business and, leveraging Lanchuang Technology's equipment and processes, reduce its reliance on imported optical components for its instrument business, thus extending Yuan Yonggang's optoelectronics empire upstream to optical communication equipment.

Besides, Anfu Technology, also controlled by Yuan Yonggang, has begun expanding into the optoelectronic chip sector beyond its core Nanfu Battery business. In 2025, it strategically invested in optical chip company Suzhou EasyLink Micro and GPU manufacturer Xiandi Semiconductor, exploring a second growth curve.

Anfu Technology's market capitalization has surged more than fourfold since Yuan Yonggang took control, peaking at over 20 billion yuan, but it also faces substantial goodwill impairment risks.

Behind these multiple industrial plays, risks also loom. Dongshan Precision's large-scale expansion has increased its debt levels; Landun Optoelectronics' restructuring faces regulatory uncertainties; Anfu Technology carries a substantial 2.9 billion yuan goodwill burden.

On one hand, capital mergers and acquisitions have driven performance and market capitalization flexibility. On the other, technological iteration, liabilities, goodwill, and other challenges await. Yuan Yonggang's optoelectronics strategy, spanning 'equipment, components, and optical modules,' will require time to validate its integration effectiveness.