unbelievable! Cree, which once illuminated half of the Earth, announced bankruptcy, and silicon carbide gamble turned into a life telling symbol?

In June 2025, Cree (now renamed Wolfspeed), a US semiconductor company that revolutionized the global lighting industry with white LED technology, officially announced its application for bankruptcy protection. This industrial transformation led by technology pioneers ultimately came to an end with debt restructuring. From an industry beacon holding 35% of the global LED chip market share to a struggling figure with $6.5 billion in debt and a 91% drop in stock price, Cree's downfall trajectory reflects the fatal trap that technology companies face in their strategic transformation.

echnological glory: the "LED revolutionary" who rewrites the history of lighting

Cree, founded in North Carolina, USA in 1987, initially started with research on silicide technology, but wrote a legend in the LED field:

1.In 1989, the world's first silicon carbide based blue LED was launched, laying the foundation for white LED technology;

2.In 2003, a 65lm/W white LED was developed, breaking the industry record for luminous efficiency;

3.In 2006, the commercial silicon carbide based white LED (XLamp series) achieved a luminous efficiency of over 100lm/W and a lifespan of over 50000 hours, completely solving the brightness pain point;

4.In 2013, we became the first LED bulb manufacturer to receive Energy Star certification from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

With technological patents and production capacity advantages, Cree became the world's largest LED chip manufacturer during the wave of global LED lighting penetration rate soaring from 1% to 45% from 2000 to 2015, and its technological roadmap defined industry standards.

Strategic Gambling: From the King of LED to the Gambler of Silicon Carbide

In 2016, with the rise of Chinese LED companies relying on cost advantages, the growth rate of Cree lighting business slowed down. Coincidentally, the adoption of silicon carbide MOSFETs in Tesla Model 3 has sparked an industry boom. Cree, which holds 60% of the global silicon carbide wafer production capacity, made a radical decision: in 2017, it fully invested in silicon carbide semiconductors, divested its lighting business, and renamed itself Wolfspeed.

This' separation 'can be described as tragic:

Sell the lighting products department to Ideal Industries in 2019;

Sell the LED product division to SMART Global Holdings in 2021;

Spending $5 billion to build an 8-inch silicon carbide wafer fab in New York State, attempting to monopolize the high-end market. However, financial data exposed hidden dangers: Wolfspeed, after renaming, has suffered losses for ten consecutive fiscal years, the capacity utilization rate of the Mohawk Valley factory is only 25%, the yield rate of 8-inch wafers is less than 40%, and Chinese companies have pushed the price of 6-inch substrates to 30% of the international level, completely breaking through their cost defense line.

Collapse Truth: The Three Deadly Injuries Behind Radical Expansion

  1.Misjudgment of market pace: The penetration rate of electric vehicles in Europe and America is lower than expected, and Tesla announced a 75% reduction in inverter silicon carbide usage in 2023, directly leading to a sharp drop in Wolfspeed vehicle specification orders.

  2.Technological lag: The 8-inch wafer production plan has been unable to realize its cost advantage due to yield issues, while China's Tianke Heda and Tianyue Advanced have seized over 17% of the global market share with cost-effectiveness.

  3.Geostrategic imbalance: Overreliance on the European and American markets, missing out on the opportunity for rapid development of new energy vehicles in China. While local companies are widely using silicon carbide in charging piles, photovoltaics, and other fields, Wolfspeed still adheres to a single track of vehicle regulations.

Industry warning: Innovators' 'fatal weakness'

  The collapse of Cree sounds three alarm bells for the technology industry:

  1.Technological leadership ≠ commercial success: The absolute advantage of the white LED era has not been transformed into a moat on the silicon carbide track, and patent barriers are vulnerable to cost crushing.

  2.Strategic transformation requires careful consideration before taking action: the practice of divesting mature businesses and taking a gamble will cause the enterprise to lose its cash flow buffer and adjustment space in market fluctuations.

  3.Globalization layout cannot be neglected: ignoring the huge potential of the Chinese market and being marginalized in the trend of supply chain localization confirms the industrial logic of 'whoever gains China gains the world'.

Reflection: When Technology Pioneers Encounter Business Reality

  From the LED revolutionary who illuminated the world to the failed transformation trapped in bankruptcy, Cree's fate reveals a cruel truth: in the competitive landscape of "economies of scale+ecological synergy" in the semiconductor industry, relying solely on technological breakthroughs is difficult to establish a foothold. As its CEO once claimed, 'We are a giant in silicon carbide semiconductors,' but failed to see clearly: true giants not only need technological foresight, but also need to find a dynamic balance between market pace, cost control, and geopolitics.

  In the aftermath of this industrial tragedy, Chinese silicon carbide companies are taking over technology iteration with a 30% cost advantage, and whether Wolfspeed's bankruptcy restructuring can be reborn may depend on whether it can regain the balance art of "technology landing" and "commercial rationality" in the ruins.