Rotterdam-based Nearfield Instruments, a startup that specialises in process control and metrology solutions, announced on Tuesday that it has secured €27M in a funding round.
New investor ING Corporate Investments participated in the round along with the existing investors INvest-NL, Innovation Industries, and TNO.
Invest-NL has invested €7.5M in this round through the Deep Tech Fund.
Nearfield Instruments says the additional funding will enable the Dutch company to accelerate the production of its fault-detection solutions.
Nearfield Instruments: Develops process control metrology solutions
Founded by Roland van Vliet and Hamed Sadeghian in 2016, Nearfield Instruments is a spin-off of TNO (the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research). The company operates from Rotterdam (head office) and Eindhoven (High Tech Campus).
The company currently has 139 employees.
The Dutch company develops and delivers process control metrology solutions that measure essential 3D nanostructures non-destructively during microchip manufacturing.
Examples of microchips are memory and logic processors for laptops, smartphones, data centres, etc. Measuring these structures is essential to producing good chips.
Nearfield Instruments’ technique utilises Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) to scan surfaces in 3D with an atomically sharp tip.
The company says it has improved and refined SPM to achieve significant measurement speeds and non-destructively measure complex 3D structures both on the surface (product “QUADRA”) and below the surface (product “AUDIRA”).
Other metrology technologies (often based on electrons or light (photons)) cannot accurately or non-destructively measure the smallest 3D nanostructures accurately or quickly.
The investors
Invest-NL is the Dutch national financing and development institution. As an impact investor, Invest-NL focuses on enabling financing for companies initially considered unfinanceable.
Invest-NL focuses on critical societal challenges in collaboration with other financiers, investors, and development specialists in the public and private sectors.
It includes moving towards a carbon-neutral and circular economy, ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare, and supporting deep technological innovations.
René Brama, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL, says, “We remain enthusiastic about the unique technology and team of Nearfield Instruments. The entry of ING Corporate Investments strengthens confidence in the future of this innovative company within the Dutch semiconductor industry.”
Innovation Industries is a Dutch venture capital firm focused on high-tech, medical, and agri-food technology companies.
In addition to financial support, Innovation Industries provides operational and strategic support to position its portfolio companies for success optimally.
TNO is an independent research organisation based in the Netherlands. It offers a wide range of advanced technological and scientific solutions.
TNO primarily focuses on applied sciences, supporting industry and government with innovative, practical knowledge.
ING Corporate Investments, a subsidiary of ING Bank NV, provides a range of tailor-made equity and subordinated debt solutions. The company invests as a shareholder alongside management and strategic or financial parties.
