Lace Raises $40M to Develop Helium Beam Lithography for 10x Smaller Features
Lace, backed by Microsoft and Atomico, raised $40 million in Series A funding to develop a helium atom beam lithography system. The 0.1-nanometer resolution technology could enable chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor and Intel to etch features ten times smaller than ASML’s 13.5-nanometer light-based tools.
1. Lace Raises $40M Series A
Lace, the Norway-headquartered startup with backing from Microsoft’s M12, Atomico, Linse Capital and others, secured $40 million in Series A funding to advance its helium atom beam lithography technology.
2. Helium Atom Beam Lithography Breakthrough
The company’s system uses a 0.1-nanometer-wide helium beam—about the width of a hydrogen atom—to etch circuits, enabling feature sizes ten times smaller than the 13.5-nanometer resolution of current ASML light-based tools.
3. Potential Impact on AI Chip Performance
By achieving atomic-scale resolution, Lace’s technology could allow manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor and Intel to significantly boost the computing horsepower of next-generation AI processors.
4. Commercialization and Future Plans
Lace plans to begin commercial deployments in the coming years, aiming to compete with established lithography equipment suppliers and address the industry’s demand for finer feature sizes.