xLight, a hypergrowth semiconductor fabless startup, just clinched a temp deal to grow with the U.S. Commerce Department. This agreement could deliver them as much as $150 million in federal funds! This $185 million investment is an extraordinary opportunity for a young, emerging company. The xLight National Security Innovation Capital Fund investment, which provided matching capital, would closely align government interests with the success and development of a competing semiconductor technology.
The funding will help power xLight’s audacious mission to change the lithography paradigm in the semiconductor industry. The firm recently executed a letter of intent with New York. This agreement will provide for them to install their initial machine at the CREATE site in the Capital District of New York, kicking off a new era in semiconductor manufacturing.
Public and private partners formed xLight, which employs free electron lasers to produce extreme ultraviolet light. Their inventive multicavity approach makes possible extraordinarily sharp wavelengths of 2 nanometers. This approach is fundamentally different from the 13.5 nanometer wavelengths used by today’s (and the past 20 years) market leader, ASML. By treating light as a utility rather than integrating it directly into each machine, xLight aims to address one of the sector’s most pressing challenges: lithography bottlenecks.
Funding for the company includes a $40 million round this past spring from investors including the likes of Playground Global. It’s looking to get on an even sturdier financial footing, planning to launch another fundraising round in January.
Nicholas Kelez, the CEO of xLight, has impressive experience in building quantum computers. He has deep experience in X-ray science user facilities. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration, stating,
“We’re working very closely with them right now to basically design how we integrate with an ASML scanner.”
Kelez’s vision for xLight goes beyond just the technical innovation. He shares how he hopes it will affect the semiconductor space as a whole. These machines would be huge in scale, around 100 meters by 50 meters, about the size of a football field. These machines will be public facing and installed outside semiconductor fabrication plants.
For Pat Gelsinger, executive chairman of xLight and CEO of Intel, the company’s technology could help “wake up Moore’s law.” The idea behind Moore’s Law is that the amount of transistors you can fit on a microchip doubles roughly every other year. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger emphasizes the significance of this move to national security interests, claiming that
“It’s a minority investment, in a non-governing way, but it also says we need this company to succeed for national interest.”
Gelsinger, who has extensive experience navigating the political landscape as a CEO, commented on the need for business leaders to remain neutral amid partisan politics. He stated,
“CEOs and companies should neither be Republican or Democrat.”
He stressed that business priorities must be the guiding force behind corporate actions. He challenged leaders to find the best policies, regardless of party or ideology.
Though no guarantees have been made yet on any partnerships or further investments, Gelsinger said talks are ongoing with all of these groups. “Nobody has committed yet, but the work is going on with everybody on the list that you would expect, and we’re having intense conversations with all of them,” he remarked.
Gelsinger’s comments leaned into the larger energy policy and technology advancement connection. He concluded by emphasizing the incredible difference between building nuclear reactors in the United States and in China. For every one reactor that the U.S. has on order and under construction—that’s right, zero—the Chinese have 39. He asserted,
“Energy policy in a digital AI economy equals the economic capacity of the nation.”
xLight is positioning itself to further develop its innovative technology and grow its business. While Gelsinger is vague on exactly how this will create market competitive forces and align with national interests, he is very optimistic. He remarked on his personal motivations as well, sharing a light-hearted note about balancing work and family life:
“And I gave my wife back her weekends.”
