Germany-based Black Semiconductor has raised €254.4 million ($274.6m), one of the largest raises for a chip manufacturing company in Europe.
The majority of the funding came from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with €25.7 million ($27.8m) of the total raised coming from an equity funding round led by Porsche Ventures and Project A Ventures.
Spun out of Aachen University and co-founded by brothers Daniel and Sebastian Schall, the company is using graphene to build chip networks that it claims will speed up data communication between chips and improve energy efficiency whilst reducing production costs.
Graphene, a form of pure carbon that exists in a near-transparent sheet the thickness of one atom, is a superconductor of heat and electricity.
By using light instead of electricity to transmit data, Black Semiconductor says its photonic interconnects will “pave the way for technological breakthroughs in the semiconductor and electronics industries.”
Black Semiconductor plans to use the funding to accelerate its R&D initiatives and establish pilot line manufacturing capabilities in Aachen, Germany by 2026. The company is also planning to increase its headcount by creating 90 new ‘high-tech’ positions, creating a 120-person strong workforce.
Writing on LinkedIn, Daniel Schall said: “The milestone of €254.4 mio (sic) funding achieved by the entire Black Semiconductor team is truly remarkable. Not only have we taken on an exciting challenge, but we have also grown beyond our personal and professional limits. We have gained a great incentive to achieve our further goals with Black Semiconductor.”
He added: “Prove to everybody that you can make a fundamental change - it's the vision that drives us every day and motivates us to do great change in this world.”
