AXT, Inc. Announces Executive Promotions

FREMONT, CA, Oct 29 (MARKET WIRE) --
AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound
semiconductor substrates, today announced three executive promotions.

Raymond A. Low, formerly AXT's vice president, corporate controller and
acting chief financial officer, has been appointed vice president and
chief financial officer.

Davis Zhang, formerly AXT's president of joint venture operations, has
been appointed president of AXT China Operations, with responsibility for
managing and developing AXT's joint venture operations, as well as
assisting chief executive officer, Dr. Morris Young, with the management
of AXT's manufacturing facilities in China.

Robert G. Ochrym, formerly AXT's vice president of business development,
has been appointed vice president of business development, strategic sales
and marketing. His responsibilities include sales for the North American
East Coast, as well as for Europe, continuing to work closely with John J.
Cerilli, vice president of global sales and marketing, to maximize
customer support around the world. He will also be responsible for
developing sales and marketing strategies, major sale contract
negotiations, major market identification and other strategic sales and
marketing functions.

"The Board and I are very pleased to announce the promotions of Davis, Bob
and Raymond," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "Each of these
individuals has made significant contributions to AXT and I am looking
forward to further leveraging their talents in expanded roles.

"Davis has been instrumental in the success of our joint venture program
and his knowledge of our business and customer needs make this new
position a natural fit. Further, by bringing together two critical
functions of manufacturing and joint venture operations, we can better
plan and respond to the present and future needs of our customers.

"Bob has a wealth of contacts and experience in our industry and we are
excited to leverage his knowledge to further enhance the reach and success
of our sales and marketing efforts. We believe that we have great
opportunities to grow our market share with a number of the customers that
we currently serve as well as with new customers that we do not presently
supply. Further, we are continuing to explore new applications for our
products in wireless devices, LEDs and photovoltaics that expand our
addressable market and provide further opportunity for growth.

"Raymond has a strong financial background and a deep understanding of our
financial structure, which has allowed him to transition smoothly into his
permanent role as our chief financial officer. He is a tremendous asset to
AXT and the Board and I are very pleased to work with him in this new
position," said Young.

Davis Zhang co-founded AXT in 1986. He was formerly AXT's president of
joint venture operations. From 1999 to 2003, Zhang was president of AXT's
substrate division and prior to that, held senior level positions in
production. Zhang studied mechanical engineering at Communication
University, Beijing, China.

Robert G. Ochrym joined AXT as Vice President, Business Development in
June 2005. Prior to AXT from 2003 to May 2005, Ochrym was national sales
manager at Aixtron, Inc., where he was responsible for North American
sales and marketing functions. From 1973 to 2003, Mr. Ochrym held various
positions in sales and marketing, business development and product
management at Uniroyal Optoelectronics, Northrop Grumman and
Rhone-Poulenc, and had extensive involvement with rare earths and gallium
businesses. He has a B.A. degree in Biology from Le Moyne College in
Syracuse, New York.

Raymond A. Low, formerly AXT's acting chief financial officer, joined the
company as corporate controller in February 2005 and was promoted to vice
president, corporate controller in July 2006. From June 2004 to February
2005, Low was an independent consultant on a Sarbanes Oxley assignment.
From May 2002 to June 2004, he was corporate controller of Therasense,
Inc. (now Abbott Laboratories), a publicly traded manufacturer of blood
glucose monitors. From April 2000 to May 2002, Low was corporate
controller of RStar Networks Inc, a publicly traded internet service
provider. From April 1998 to April 2000, he was director of accounting
for AT&T. Low spent three years in public accounting with BDO Seidman in
San Francisco, and three years in public accounting with Deloitte &
Touche in South Africa. He is a California certified public accountant,
and a member of the California Society of CPAs. Low is a past member of
the chartered institute of management accountants in the United Kingdom.
He has an M.B.A. degree from Chadwick University, Alabama, a Bachelor of
Accounting Science Honors degree from the University of South Africa, and
a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Rhodes University, South Africa.

About AXT, Inc.

AXT designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance
compound and single element semiconductor substrates comprising gallium
arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) through its
manufacturing facilities in Beijing, China. In addition, AXT maintains its
sales, administration and customer service functions at its headquarters
in Fremont, California. The company's substrate products are used
primarily in lighting display applications, wireless communications,
fiber optic communications and solar cell. Its vertical gradient freeze
(VGF) technique for manufacturing semiconductor substrates provides
significant benefits over other methods and enabled AXT to become a
leading manufacturer of such substrates. AXT has manufacturing facilities
in China and invests in five joint ventures producing raw materials. For
more information, see AXT's website at http://www.axt.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing paragraphs contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Federal Securities laws, including statements regarding
future growth opportunities available to us, the impact of our customer
qualifications, and our ability to plan and respond to customer
requirements. These forward-looking statements are based upon specific
assumptions that are subject to uncertainties and factors relating to the
company's operations and business environment, which could cause actual
results of the company to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements contained in the foregoing
discussion. These uncertainties and factors include but are not limited
to overall conditions in the markets in which the company competes;
global financial conditions and uncertainties, market acceptance and
demand for the company's products; the impact of delays by our customers
on the timing of sales of products; and other factors as set forth in the
company's annual report on Form 10-K and other filings made with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Each of these factors is difficult to
predict and many are beyond the company's control. The company does not
undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statement, as a result of new information or future events.

Contacts:
Raymond A. Low
Chief Financial Officer
(510) 683-5900

Leslie Green
Green Communications Consulting, LLC
(650) 312-9060

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