ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, July 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nearfield Instruments, a developer of cutting-edge measurement and inspection (M&I) solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, today announced the successful completion of a €135 million Series C funding round. The oversubscribed funding round was led by two new lead investors: Walden Catalyst, a leading US venture capital firm backing the next generation of category-defining companies in deep tech, and Temasek, a global investor seeking emerging technology opportunities to solve complex, high-impact challenges and address market inflection points. M&G Investments, a leading global asset manager, is acting as a co-investor through its Catalyst strategy. The success of the round is further highlighted by the participation of existing investors Innovation Industries, Invest-NL, and ING.
The surging demand for higher performance, lower power chips is driving increasing complexities in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, which is addressed by Nearfield’s innovative process control solutions, including QUADRA 3D metrology systems that provide non-destructive, high-throughput, high-resolution metrology capabilities. Nearfield is deeply involved in most major semiconductor manufacturing processes.
QUADRA has been adopted by chipmakers around the world and is fully validated and deployed in high volume production.
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player in of semiconductor Device industry.”
According to Mergermarket, this funding round is the second largest in the European and US semiconductor equipment market in the past five years.
young Song, Established Manage Partner in Walden catalyst: “Advanced semiconductor teeth of The next generation of semiconductors will be a key pillar of global innovation and growth. Advanced Lithography and 3D Integration, and small Features, Deeper Trench, and Tight tolerances. Mass production of these next generation devices requires new process control tools to enable higher yields and throughput, and Nearfield’s metrology solutions are essential to solving these process control challenges. We are excited We look forward to partnering with Hamed and his world-class team to further accelerate our nearfield growth.”
Nearfield, a Netherlands-based scale-up, is embedded in the strong Dutch ecosystem of the semiconductor industry, an industry expected to reach USD 1 trillion in global revenue by 2029. This funding round is the largest deep tech investment round in the Netherlands and further validation of the country’s leading position in global semiconductors.
Eric Meurice, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nearfield Instruments: “This outstanding achievement we To To accelerate Near Field Efforts To provide Individual solution To meet of Industry Metrology and inspection needs The most advanced node. Offering process Control and yield Improvements
Deadly in this global industry. that teeth wonderful To look of continuation support of our Shareholders Combined The addition of these new industry-leading investors will strengthen our global perspective and network and solidify our position as a leader in metrology and inspection.”
about Near Field musical instrument
Nearfield Instruments, a spin-off of Dutch research institute TNO, solves metrology and inspection challenges for the semiconductor industry with in-line, non-destructive process control nanometrology solutions for advanced 3D memory and logic devices. The company’s breakthrough technology combines high resolution and high throughput essential for the manufacturing of advanced semiconductor nodes. Nearfield is headquartered in Rotterdam with offices in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Pyeongtaek, Korea.
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about Walden catalyst Venture
Walden Catalyst is a venture capital firm helping US, European and Israeli startups build the next category-defining businesses in deep tech. The firm is led by deep tech industry pioneers Young Sohn and Lip-Bu Tan, who have collectively invested in over 600 startups worldwide, 138 of which have gone on to IPO. Walden Catalyst specializes in deep tech investments, with its team of innovators and entrepreneurs passionate about disruptive technologies and a commitment to excellence. This translates to access to unparalleled operational expertise, global reach and a network of industry leaders passionate about helping build and scale the companies of the future.
Please come by all means home page 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 (€267 billion) as at 31 March 2024. Temasek’s purpose, “So that all generations can prosper”, is our guiding principle for driving change for today and future generations. We operate based on commercial principles and aim to deliver long-term sustainable profits. Temasek has 13 offices across nine 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, 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 assets under management of €396 billion (as at 31 December 2023) and serves clients across the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia. M&G has a rich history of investing in private markets through a range of strategies within its €84 billion Private Markets business. In 2021, it launched Catalyst, a multi-billion dollar, purpose-led, flexible private markets strategy that invests in innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest environmental and social challenges on behalf of M&G’s life insurance business and its 4.7 million clients.
media contact
Stephen Simmons
CFF Communications
+31 6 20300796
stefan.simons@cffcommunications.nl
Roland Van Vliet
Chief Partnerships Officer
Nearfield Instruments BV
+31-10-2233610
roland.vanvliet@nearfieldinstruments.com
