Black Semiconductor, a pioneer in next-generation chip technology, today announced one of the largest funding for a deep tech company manufacturing chips in Europe to date, strengthening Europe’s foothold in this strategically significant industry.
The company has secured EUR 228.7 million public funding from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia over the next 7 years under IPCEI ME/CT. Alongside the public funding, Black Semiconductor has secured an additional EUR 25.7 million in equity funding. The round was led by Porsche Ventures and Project A Ventures, with participation from leading venture capital firms, corporates, and industry leaders including Scania Growth, Capnamic, Tech Vision Fonds, and NRW.BANK, joining the seed round investors Vsquared Ventures, Cambium Capital, and Hermann Hauser’s Onsight Ventures. With the funding, the company is on track to realize the first phase of its vision: advancing a new generation of chip technology from research to mass production by 2031.
“We highly value the strong support of the government and renowned investors to jointly advance the development of novel technologies in Europe. The investment enables us to drive our product development and 300 mm wafer pilot production facility forward at full speed. As traditional chip technology moves closer to its technological and economic limits, our innovation paves the way for faster, more powerful, cost-efficient, and energy-efficient computation,” said Dr. Daniel Schall, co-founder and CEO of Black Semiconductor.
Dr. Daniel Schall and Sebastian Schall founded Black Semiconductor in 2020, aiming to build networks of chips with graphene. These new chip networks will speed up data communication between chips for unparalleled performance, improved energy-efficiency, and a significant reduction in manufacturing costs through 60% fewer production steps required. Black Semiconductor has the ambition to enable mass production of graphene semiconductors in full compliance with existing industry standards – a pioneering achievement for the industry. The company’s technology and hardware facilitate optical chip-to-chip connections, allowing chips to interact almost as if they were one. By overcoming current limitations in silicon chip architecture, this new technology addresses existing barriers for transformative applications across industries, including efficient data centers, generative and embedded AI, and autonomous driving.
With the fresh capital, Black Semiconductor will accelerate its R&D initiatives and establish pilot line manufacturing capabilities in Aachen, Germany, an important step towards fulfilling its long-term goal of producing and implementing high-quality graphene in Europe. The company plans to inaugurate a pilot manufacturing facility in Aachen by 2026, demonstrating the seamless integration of graphene into electronic chips. Additionally, Black Semiconductor aims to increase its headcount, planning to create 90 new high-tech positions, boosting its total workforce from 30 to 120 by 2026.
“Europe needs to focus on achieving independence in key enabling technologies to ensure the continent’s autonomy and economic stability amid geopolitical challenges and supply chain issues. 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,” said Uwe Horstmann, co-founder and General Partner of Project A.
