Nexstrom raises $12M to bring 2D semiconductor wafers to chip fabs

Nexstrom, incubated by Xora Innovation, is building equipment and processes that would allow foundries to manufacture transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) directly on chip wafers. The company calls its product North Star, which it says is designed to grow TMDs on 300mm, or 12-inch, wafers used in commercial chipmaking. TMDs are not truly two-dimensional; they are a few atomic layers thick, a property that has attracted chipmakers trying to shrink transistors further.

For decades, chipmakers have made semiconductors faster by shrinking silicon transistors and packing more onto each chip. But controlling electron flow becomes harder at smaller dimensions, worsening leakage, power loss and heat. The demand for data centers and AI models has increased pressure for more powerful and energy-efficient chips, while the physical limits of silicon have constrained progress.

SiliconANGLE reported that single-crystal 2D materials made from TMDs can conduct electricity efficiently at sub-nanometer scales, and that because they are atomically thin they allow more precise electron control at the transistor level and reduce energy loss. The report said Nexstrom argues such materials eliminate interface flaws such as “micro-voids,” allowing seamless control of transistor gates and reducing current leakage.

Nexstrom’s technology is based in part on research by co-founder and chief scientist Lance Li, who previously led post-silicon electronics research at TSMC and has worked on 2D materials since 2012. “In the lab, people can get very small, high-quality materials, but only on a very small scale,” Li told TechCrunch. “This is exactly the gap Nexstrom is addressing.”

Li also said in SiliconANGLE that the challenge has not been demonstrating the promise of 2D materials but manufacturing them at the scale and quality advanced foundries require. According to SiliconANGLE, Nexstrom claims to have developed the first platform capable of growing single-crystal 2D semiconductor materials in the quantities the chipmaking industry requires. The startup says it integrates proprietary chemical vapor deposition hardware with a novel process technology and wafer-scale 2D material growth directly into existing foundry workflows.

The startup is not alone in pursuing 2D semiconductors. TSMC, Intel and Belgium’s IMEC are developing ways to integrate 2D materials into transistors, while equipment and materials companies including AIXTRON, CDimension and several startups are working on other parts of the manufacturing chain. TSMC, ASML and IMEC recently showed how 2D-material transistors could be used in a 300mm integration process, according to TechCrunch.

Rather than competing with chipmaking giants such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel, Nexstrom wants to sell its technology to them or work with them as partners. The company says some companies in the industry are already testing samples of its wafers and materials, though it declined to name them.

CEO Phoebe Tan told TechCrunch that Nexstrom’s current work is focused on delivering material quality specified by industry partners. “We have proven material results on wafers using our 12-inch system that has just been installed,” she said.

Nexstrom plans to use the funding to further develop its technology and move its equipment closer to commercial production. Tan said the money will also go toward improving process control and measurement capabilities, expanding the team and supporting qualification programs with potential customers. The startup expects its equipment to be ready for commercial production between 2030 and 2035.

Dr. Philip Wong, a Stanford University professor who advises Nexstrom’s board, said in SiliconANGLE that 2D semiconductor materials are already on the roadmaps of the world’s biggest semiconductor firms, but they are still waiting for a way to produce the materials at scale. “The industry needs high-quality, uniform 2D materials on 300 millimeter substrates, and solving that materials bottleneck is exactly where Nexstrom is focused,” he said.