Invisix announced an oversubscribed €20 million seed round led by Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., and a tier‑1 semiconductor manufacturer. The capital will fund the development of its first shippable soft‑x‑ray metrology system, expand the team, and support customer demonstrations in a new Eindhoven cleanroom—addressing a measurement gap that increasingly hampers advanced chip production.
Invisix Raises €20 M Seed Round to Accelerate Soft X‑Ray Metrology
The seed round totals €20 million, with participation from Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., and an unnamed tier‑1 semiconductor manufacturer. Invisix plans to use the funds to grow its workforce, speed development of its first commercial system, and run customer demos at its newly established cleanroom in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company highlighted that its technology, rooted in Nobel‑Prize‑winning high‑harmonic generation (HHG) physics, is ready for high‑volume manufacturing.
Soft X‑Ray Metrology Leveraging High Harmonic Generation
Invisix’s approach replaces conventional optical tools with a soft‑x‑ray source generated via HHG. A short‑pulsed drive laser excites noble‑gas atoms, causing them to emit broadband soft‑x‑ray light at multiple wavelengths. Proprietary reconstruction algorithms and machine‑learning models then translate the scattered signal into a detailed 3‑D internal view of semiconductor structures. The process is non‑destructive and designed for the throughput required in high‑volume fabs.
Enterprise Relevance and Demonstrated Capability
The company, founded by ASML alumni CEO Christina Porter, PhD, and CTO Sietse van der Post, has already demonstrated the technology in 2023 with Intel and imec, measuring critical features in gate‑all‑around transistor architectures. The system’s ability to resolve buried nanoscale structures—beyond the reach of optical metrology—targets yield‑critical layers in advanced logic and memory chips that underpin high‑performance computing and AI workloads. Invisix’s team includes veterans from ASML’s soft‑x‑ray program and senior hires such as COO Roald Dogge, formerly COO of NTS.
Key Takeaways
- Invisix closed an oversubscribed €20 million seed round with investors including Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., and a tier‑1 semiconductor manufacturer.
- The company’s soft‑x‑ray metrology system uses high‑harmonic generation and machine‑learning reconstruction to provide non‑destructive, high‑throughput 3‑D imaging of advanced chip layers.
- Demonstrations in 2023 with Intel and imec showed measurement of gate‑all‑around transistor features, and a new cleanroom in Eindhoven will host further customer demos and development of the first shippable product.
TechInsyte's Take
Invisix’s seed funding underscores investor confidence in hardware‑centric solutions that address metrology bottlenecks as chips become more three‑dimensional. While the technology has been validated in collaboration with leading partners, its commercial impact will depend on successful scaling to fab‑level throughput and integration into existing manufacturing flows. CIOs and CTOs overseeing chip‑design or fab operations should monitor Invisix’s progress for potential non‑destructive metrology options that could mitigate yield risk in upcoming node generations.
Source: Businesswire
