Norwegian startup Lace has secured $40 million in a Series A funding round to advance its novel chipmaking technology. The company is developing a form of lithography that uses a beam of helium atoms instead of light to etch circuits onto silicon wafers. This method has the potential to create chip components that are ten times smaller than what current technologies can achieve.
The investment was led by venture capital firm Atomico, with participation from Microsoft's M12 fund, among others. Lace's technology could represent a significant breakthrough for the semiconductor industry, enabling the creation of more powerful and efficient processors for applications like artificial intelligence. The company aims to have a pilot tool ready for a fabrication plant by 2029.