ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands,
July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Nearfield Instruments, the developer of state-of-the art Metrology
& Inspection (M&I) solutions for the semiconductor
manufacturing industry, today announced the successful closure of a
€135 million Series-C funding round. The oversubscribed funding
round is led by two new major investors, Walden Catalyst, an
industry leading US venture capital firm helping the next
generation of category-defining businesses in deep-tech, and
Temasek, a global investor that also looks into opportunities in
emerging technologies to solve complex and high impact challenges,
and address market inflections. M&G Investments, a leading
global asset manager, through its Catalyst strategy, is acting as a
co-investor. The success of this round is further underscored by
the participation of existing investors Innovation Industries,
Invest-NL, and ING.
The growing complexities in advanced semiconductor
manufacturing, driven by the surge in demand for higher performing
and lower energy consuming chips, are addressed by Nearfield's
innovative process control solutions. These include the QUADRA 3D
metrology system that provides non-destructive, high-throughput,
and high-resolution metrology capabilities. Nearfield is deeply
engaged with most major chip manufacturers globally, and QUADRA is
fully validated and deployed in high-volume manufacturing.
Dr. Hamed Sadeghian,
Co-Founder and CEO of Nearfield Instruments: "We are
thrilled that Nearfield's' QUADRA 3D metrology system has been
fully integrated into the first major high-volume semiconductor
manufacturing fab. This milestone solidifies our pioneering role in
advancing critical metrology for leading-edge nodes. With
significant contributions from investment leaders, we are well
positioned to meet the growing demand for Metrology &
Inspection in the coming decade. This funding will enable us to
ramp up production capacity, expand our product portfolio, and
strengthen our position as a key player in the semiconductor
equipment industry."
The funding round is the second largest capital raise in the
semiconductor fabrication equipment market in Europe and the US in the past 5 years,
according to Mergermarket.
Young Sohn, Founding Managing
Partner at Walden Catalyst: "Advanced semiconductors are the
key pillars for global innovation and growth. The next generation
of semiconductors will be driven by Advanced Lithography and 3D
Integration, with smaller features, deeper trenches, and tighter
tolerances. The high-volume manufacturing of these next gen devices
requires new process control tools to enable higher yield and
throughput, and Nearfield's metrology solutions are critical for
solving these process control challenges. We are excited to partner
with Hamed and his world-class team to further accelerate
Nearfield's growth."
As a Netherlands-based
scale-up, Nearfield is embedded in the strong Dutch ecosystem of
semiconductor innovation and investments, an industry that is
expected to reach USD 1 trillion in
global revenue by 2029. The funding round is the largest deep-tech
investment round in the
Netherlands and is yet another testimony of the country's
leading position in semiconductors globally.
Eric Meurice, Chairman of the
Nearfield Instruments Supervisory Board: "This fantastic
outcome enables us to accelerate Nearfield's efforts to provide
unique solutions to meet the industry's metrology and inspection
needs for the most advanced nodes. Providing process control and
yield improvement is critical in this global industry. It is great
to see the continued support of our shareholders combined with the
onboarding of new industry-leading investors who will reinforce our
global view and network and cement the company's position as the
leader in Metrology & Inspection."
About Nearfield Instruments
Nearfield Instruments, a
Netherlands based spin-off of
Dutch research institute TNO, is bridging the semiconductor
industry's metrology and inspection challenges with in-line,
non-destructive process control nanometrology solutions for
advanced 3D memory and logic devices. Their groundbreaking
technology combines high-resolution with high-throughput, essential
for the production of advanced semiconductor nodes. Nearfield is
headquartered in Rotterdam with
offices in Eindhoven, The
Netherlands and Pyeongtaek, South
Korea.
For more information, visit www.nearfieldinstruments.com
About Walden Catalyst Ventures
Walden Catalyst is
a venture capital firm helping early-stage companies in the U.S.,
Europe, and Israel build the next generation of
category-defining businesses in deep-tech. The firm is led by Young
Sohn and Lip-Bu Tan, deep-tech industry pioneers who
between them have invested in more than 600 startups across the
globe, of which 138 have gone on to IPO. Walden Catalyst is
focused on deep- tech investments and their team of innovators and
entrepreneurs are passionate about disruptive technologies and
committed to excellence. This translates into unparalleled access
to operational expertise, global reach, and a network of industry
captains eager to help build and scale the companies of the
future.
Visit us at www.waldencatalyst.com or follow @Walden Catalyst
Ventures
About Temasek
Temasek is a global investment company
headquartered in Singapore, with a
net portfolio value of S$389 billion
(€267b) as of 31 March 2024.
Temasek's Purpose "So Every Generation Prospers" guides it to make
a difference for today's and future generations. Operating on
commercial principles, it seeks to deliver sustainable returns over
the long term. Temasek has 13 offices in 9 countries around the
world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and Brussels, London, Mexico
City, New York,
Paris, San Francisco, and Washington, DC outside Asia.
For more information, visit https://www.temasek.com.sg
About M&G
M&G Investments is part of M&G
plc, a savings and investment business, which listed as an
independent company on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019. It has €396 billion of assets under
management (as of 31 December 2023)
and customers in the UK, Europe,
the Americas and Asia. M&G has
a rich heritage of investing in private markets through a range of
strategies in its €84 billion Private Markets business. It launched
Catalyst in 2021 a multi-billion purpose-led flexible private
markets strategy which invests in innovative solutions to some of
the world's biggest environmental and social challenges on behalf
of M&G's Life business and its 4.7 million customers.
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