Capnamic’s Post

Silicon Canals: Germany’s Black Semiconductor secures €254.4M to develop the semiconductor value chain in Europe; here’s how 

Black Semiconductor has secured €254m in Series A funding, largely under the EU IPCEI Microelectronics program with a €25.7m equity participation co-led by Porsche Ventures and Project A. This is such an important move towards European sovereignty in chip development and manufacturing. We need to see much more capital flowing into R&D heavy startups to advance sovereignty for the most crucial areas where our dependency on third countries is too high. In Europe, private and public investors are often relying too much on the other side to make the first move when commercialization is still far out. We need to do better by taking more risks on both sides. Black Semiconductor is a great example for that and hopefully one of many more to come. I'm personally very excited for innovations along the battery value chain, so hit us up if you're building in the space! 🔋 cc Capnamic, Vsquared Ventures, Uwe Horstmann, Jack Wang, Leo Lerach

𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞! 254.4m funding for our portfolio company Black Semiconductor. This shows that #resilience is not only about defence. It is one of the largest #deeptech funding deals for a chip-making company in Europe to date. And it underlines the strategic importance of strengthening the continent's technological sovereignty and #supplychain resilience. Black Semiconductor is developing a new way of building chip networks using a novel material: graphene. This new generation of chip networks facilitates optical chip-to-chip interconnection and will break down connectivity barriers and multiply computing power and efficiency. This is urgently needed for transformative applications across industries, including efficient data centres, generative and embedded #AI, and autonomous driving. The funding includes €228.7 million in public funding from the IPCEI ME/CT programme and a €25.7 million VC round led by Project A, which already co-led their seed round, Porsche Ventures and other leading venture capital firms and corporations. #Semiconductors have been a much neglected industry. Black Semiconductor, with its great founding team, exceptional technological know-how and substantial funding, has the ability to bring back some of the much needed technological sovereignty and become one of the key players in Europe. Congrats Daniel Schall, Sebastian Schall, Cedric Huyghebaert and the entire team.

In February it was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt. Today it was HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne. I refer to recent distinguished visitors to Pragmatic Park, Cambridge-headquartered, flexible integrated circuit scaleup Pragmatic’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, located in Durham. Hunt was there to cheer loudly and came away with a souvenir FlexIC wafer fabricated at the facility, which I presume he will have framed for his office wall. HRH was there to officially open what is billed as the UK’s first 300mm semiconductor wafer fabrication line. I have no idea what she may have come away with. I have written many times about Pragmatic, most recently in December after it had scored a stonking £162m Series D raise. Pragmatic is one of the few UK semiconductor start-ups and scaleups that manufactures chips as well as design them, in contrast to the ‘fabless’ many such as EnSilica and Sondrel, whom I have also written about ceaselessly. ‘Fab’ or fabless is not the only difference. EnSilica and Sondrel took the public market route to raise funding, listing on AIM in 2022 within months of each other. In contrast, Pragmatic has remained resolutely private. As I have also said many times before, I think EnSilica and Sondrel made the wrong decision. More on this in other posts. I had a good chat yesterday with David Moore, who took over the reins as Pragmatic’s CEO from cofounder Scott White a year ago. Moore had previously held executive positions with Micron Technology and, prior, Intel Corporation. White remains Executive Director. Moore has an infectious enthusiasm when talking about Pragmatic’s prospects, and justifiably so. But in my (self-appointed) role as cheerleader for the UK semiconductor industry – and start-ups and scaleups in particular – I also believe I have a duty of care to the industry – and to the players – to holler when I perceive potential risk. And the biggest potential risk I see for Pragmatic is ‘too far, too fast’. Look, I completely get it that Pragmatic has a goodly head start in bringing its novel product to market and that they need to race along before other manufacturers of flexible semiconductor technologies (eg thin-film displays) jump on the bandwagon. And I get it that the potential applications are endless, probably some still unthought of. But what I worry about is the demand-side of the equation. Moore alludes to building several more production lines over the next few years, each capable of fabricating billions – yes billions – of chips a year. But are the industries that will be the ultimate purchasers of Pragmatic’s chips ready, willing and able to move to this technology – and in what timeframe? I expect to visit Pragmatic’s HQ after Easter to explore this issue (and more) in greater depth. But until then I shall just cheer very loudly indeed! #semiconductorindustry #flexibletechnology

https://lnkd.in/gWkrB5Xv Reflecting on the closure of a semiconductor fabrication plant, originally a copy of Baron Roger van Overstraeten’s 200mm plant at imec—a testament to his and Gaston Geens’ visionary leadership. Despite enduring multiple acquisitions, this resilient team@ now faces the end of an era. It’s incomprehensible, particularly in the context of the burgeoning demand for semiconductor experts driven by AI development and the energy transition. This closure is taking place in Flanders, a region known for its leadership in semiconductor innovations through its partnership with imec. This situation starkly highlights the challenging investment climate in Flanders for advanced manufacturing. Looking ahead, I remain hopeful that the incoming government will recognize the critical need to support and rejuvenate this sector. I am committed to offering my support where necessary to facilitate these efforts. Bart De Wever Luc Van den hove Rudi Cartuyvels Rudi De Winter Andre Oosterlinck Anneleen Van Bossuyt Jan Jambon

𝐒𝐊 𝐇𝐲𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐭𝐨 $𝟒𝟓𝟎𝐌 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest chipmaker, has secured grants totaling up to $450 million from the US government to establish a cutting-edge chip manufacturing plant in Indiana. This provisional agreement, struck between the US Department of Commerce and the South Korean tech giant, also includes significant federal incentives aimed at building both a research and development center and an advanced chip fabrication facility in the United States. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/gSd-7Ehv #SKHybrid #ReceiveUpTo450M #USIndieChipManufacturing #TechNews #InnovativeTech #USInvestment #SKManufacturingHub #ChipTechnology #FutureOfTech #SKInitiative #USChipSector #ManufacturingDevelopment #InvestInTech #GlobalTechMarket #AdvancedManufacturing #TechInvestment #USInnovation #SKOpportunity #HybridManufacturing #SKUSCollaboration #Investment #PlantSetup #NewsandUpdates #USA

DreamBig Semiconductor Inc. came to #ces2024 to unveil its own "Open #Chiplet Platform." What is it, who's running it, and where is their technology at? We break it down with the help of The Ojo-Yoshida Report technology editor and #digdeeperpodcast host Ron Wilson. The platform is designed to put back together these small dies (chiplets) in an advanced form of system-in-package. Wait. We found it almost ironic that the chiplet originally conceived to disaggregate SoCs in Lego-like blocks appears to be getting back into an integration race again. A big differentiator for DreamBig? It plans to piggyback on Silicon Box Pte Ltd, a chiplet foundry in Singapore.Steve Majors Sehat Sutardja Weili Dai

VMO Holdings and Arm Forge Powerful Partnership VMO Holdings and Arm have laid the groundwork for a significant collaboration that promises to drive advancements in the semiconductor technology industry landscape in Vietnam and Southeast Asia in today's discussion. Our main focus is on VMO's potential role as an Arm Approved Training Partner (AATP), demonstrating our commitment to developing a skilled workforce. Through intensive IC Design training using Arm technology, we aim to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry requirements, empowering a new generation of professionals. Simultaneously, VMO Holdings is actively discussing to become Arm's principal partner in Vietnam, expressing our dedication to contributing to Arm's success in the region. This entails providing active support in deploying services in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, along with the strategic distribution of Arm Intellectual Property (IP) throughout the region. With our proven capacity, industry expertise, and extensive network, we are poised to play a pivotal role in this ambitious venture. This discussion marks the first step in a collaboration with future potential. It's more than just a partnership; it's a shared commitment to shaping the future of computing. Arm's transformative technology, combined with our resilient ecosystem, promises to reshape the world and breathe life into innovative ideas.

Check out the latest issue of nanovate!, our biannual magazine with updates on the latest developments at AMO and our research partners, including the Chair of Electronic Devices at RWTH Aachen University or Black Semiconductor. This issue also contains a clear statement for diversity and tolerance, as we underhand live it every day. #research #jrf #innovation #nrw #zrr

We did it! Together with our consortiumpartners Brainport Development, High Tech NL, Oost NL (as representatives of the ROMs), TNO, imec the Netherlands and JePPIX we wrote the proposal for the ChipNL Competence Center. This proposal is supported by the Ministerie van Economische Zaken and Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). Our main focus is providing knowledge on semiconder manufacturing equipment, chip design, integrated photonics, quantum and heterogeneous integration. Therefore, we have set up a team with business developers and supply chain managers who are helping startups, scaleups, sme’s, application markets and other semiconrelated companies with knowledge dissemenation, supply chain coordination towards a.o. pilot lines and design platform, talent and skills development, internationalisation, funding, and innovation programs. We can’t wait to hear if our plans will be approved by the European Commission. A big shoutout for the team that helped us coming so far: Tim Daniels, Ward L'Herminez, Tom van der Dussen, Ron van der Kolk, Vera Janssen, Romano Hoofman, PhD, PMP, Katia Panina, Marieke Stokkelaar, Rogier Verberk, Naomie Verstraeten, Timo Meinders, Willem Endhoven, Theo Föllings, Wilbert Schaap, Ben Ruck, Jacob Jan de Boer and Frank Feringa. We couldn’t have done it without you! Chips Joint Undertaking #chipsju