# Micree Zhan

> Micree Zhan is the Chinese electronics engineer who co-founded Bitmain in 2013 and led the chip development behind its Antminer machines. His unusually private career spans specialized bitcoin-mining silicon, an ambitious move into AI processors through the Sophon and Sophgo businesses, a bitter 2019-2021 contest for control of Bitmain, and a major investment in computing research at his alma mater, Shandong University.

- **Role:** Co-founder, Bitmain
- **Organizations:** Bitmain Technologies, Sophgo, Shandong University Intelligent Computing Research Institute
- **From:** Minhou County, Fujian, China
- **Nationality:** Chinese
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering, Shandong University, Master’s degree in microelectronics engineering, Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- **Known for:** Co-founded Bitmain and led its chip research and development during the company’s rise as the dominant supplier of bitcoin-mining hardware., Led development of successive Antminer ASIC systems, beginning with the Antminer S1 in 2013., Helped build a company that reported $2.5 billion in 2017 revenue and $742.7 million in first-half 2018 profit in its draft Hong Kong listing filing.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Completed a master’s degree in microelectronics engineering and later worked as an engineer at Tsinghua University’s Research Institute of Information Technology.
- **2010** — Was running DivaIP, a set-top-box venture, when he met future Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu.
- **2013** — Co-founded Bitmain with Wu and led development of the company’s early ASIC mining hardware, including the Antminer S1.
- **2016** — Bitmain released the Antminer S9, a machine that became central to the company’s rise in bitcoin-mining hardware.
- **2017** — Introduced the Sophon BM1680 AI processor at AIWORLD in Beijing; Bitmain later reported $2.5 billion in revenue for the year.
- **2018** — Bitmain filed draft listing documents in Hong Kong. The filing described Zhan as the leader of its chip research and development team and disclosed him as its largest founder-shareholder.
- **2019** — Was removed from Bitmain positions during a control struggle with Wu and began legal and corporate efforts to regain authority.
- **2021** — The founders settled their dispute. Zhan retained control of Bitmain’s core mining-hardware business while Wu departed with spun-out assets including Bitdeer.
- **2021** — Committed funding and computing equipment to establish an intelligent-computing research institute with Shandong University.
- **2025** — Sophgo, the AI-chip company chaired by Zhan, was added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Bitmain and led its chip research and development during the company’s rise as the dominant supplier of bitcoin-mining hardware.
- Led development of successive Antminer ASIC systems, beginning with the Antminer S1 in 2013.
- Helped build a company that reported $2.5 billion in 2017 revenue and $742.7 million in first-half 2018 profit in its draft Hong Kong listing filing.
- Was ranked the richest cryptocurrency entrepreneur on the 2018 Hurun blockchain rich list, with an estimated wealth of 29.5 billion yuan.
- Launched Bitmain’s Sophon AI hardware line and later chaired Sophgo, extending his specialized-chip work beyond cryptocurrency.
- Pledged at least 200 million yuan over five years toward an intelligent-computing institute with Shandong University, alongside a computing-center equipment donation reported at 50 million yuan.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Bloomberg reported that Bitmain had become a hardware and hosting partner to American Bitcoin, a mining venture co-founded by Eric Trump. The report concerns the company Zhan co-founded and does not establish his personal involvement in the partnership.
- **2025-01** — The U.S. Commerce Department added Xiamen Sophgo Technologies and related entities to the Entity List, citing advanced-AI work connected to China’s military modernization. Sophgo had previously denied any direct or indirect business relationship with Huawei.
- **2024-11** — The Washington Post reported on scrutiny of TSMC-made chips ordered by Sophgo that investigators linked to a Huawei processor; Sophgo said it was not related to the Huawei investigation and had provided TSMC with an investigation report.
- **2021-06** — Shandong University announced Zhan’s equipment donation and five-year funding commitment for a new intelligent-computing research institute.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bitmain.com/
- LinkedIn: https://cn.linkedin.com/in/micree-zhan-305a1817a

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/micree-zhan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26