AXT, Inc. to Present at the 11th Annual Needham Growth Stock Conference

FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - December 15, 2008) - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, today announced that Wilson W. Cheung, chief financial officer, and Raymond A. Low, vice president and corporate controller, will present at the 11th Annual Needham Growth Stock Conference at the Palace Hotel in New York City on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am ET.

A link to the live webcast will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.axt.com prior to the presentation. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly following the live presentation.

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, and fiber optic communications. 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, particularly in optoelectronics applications. 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.

Contact Information: Contacts: Wilson W. Cheung Chief Financial Officer (510) 683-5900 Leslie Green Green Communications Consulting, LLC (650) 312-9060