Aachen-based Black Semiconductor secures €254.4 million to drive a new generation of chips in Europe – EU-Startups
Black Semiconductor, a pioneer in next-generation chip technology, announced €228.7 million round, one of the largest funding for a deep tech company manufacturing chips in Europe to date.
The company has secured the 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 €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.
Founded in 2020 by Dr. Daniel Schall and Sebastian Schall, Black Semiconductor is developing a new way to build networks of chips leveraging a novel material: 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. The company’s technology and hardware facilitate optical chip-to-chip connections, allowing chips to interact almost as if they were one.
Dr. Daniel Schall, co-founder and CEO of Black Semiconductor, said: “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.”
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.
Uwe Horstmann, co-founder, and General Partner of Project A, emphasized: “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.”
Patrick Huke, Partner and Head of Porsche Ventures, added: “Our lead investment in Black Semiconductor together with Project A represents a great opportunity, harnessing photonics technology seamlessly integrated into conventional chips for a variety of industries, use cases and future AI applications. Fueled by a combination of public and private investors, the Black Semiconductor team is now in a great position to build a strong semiconductor business within Europe, strengthening not only our domestic competitiveness but also the overall European chip ecosystem.”
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