shares in frances soitec sa rose on tuesday after an investment fund bought a stake in the manufacturer of semiconductor materials placing a bet on a sector that has enjoyed a banner two years amid a global shortage of chips fonds strategique de participations an investment fund controlled by a consortium of insurers said tuesday that it had paid roughly 150 million euros 1577 million for a stake of which it didnt disclose the size soitec has a competitive advantage in a fastgrowing global semiconductor market driven by the explosion of 5g energy efficiency and artificial intelligence said stephane dedeyan chairman of the fund the worlds leading suppliers of semiconductors are still pushing to overcome the prolonged chip shortage that has hampered production of everything from home appliances to pcs to autos major chip makers made big strategic bets on the moreprofitable advanced chips needed for things such as 5g and servers fonds strategique de participations said it had designated laurence delpy who has been an independent director at soitec since 2016 to represent the fund on soitecs board for which it had already requested a seat soitec shareholders will vote on the funds proposal at a general meeting on july 26