Nearfield Instruments raises $380 million in largest ever Dutch deep-tech round
Rotterdam-based semiconductor metrology company Nearfield Instruments has closed a USD 380 million Series D funding round, valuing the company at USD 1.6 billion. The round is the largest deep-tech funding round ever completed in the Netherlands.
The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, with participation from Temasek, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Innovation Industries, M&G Investments, Invest-NL and Qatar Investment Authority — both Fidelity and QIA are new investors. Existing investors TNO Ventures and ING also participated. The round was oversubscribed, according to a press release from the company.
Nearfield Instruments develops 3D metrology and inspection solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, with a focus on scanning probe microscopy systems capable of nanometer-scale measurements. The company's QUADRA platform enables non-destructive, high-throughput atomic force microscopy for measuring complex structures including high-aspect-ratio trenches, gate-all-around recesses and multi-layered stacks used in advanced logic, memory and 3D IC packaging. These measurement capabilities are increasingly critical as the industry pushes toward High-NA EUV lithography and 3D integration architectures.
The capital will go toward expanding production capacity, establishing worldwide Applications Centres of Excellence, growing the global customer support organisation and deepening collaborative R&D with leading semiconductor manufacturers.
Nearfield was founded in 2016 as a spin-off from Dutch research institute TNO and employs approximately 450 people globally, with operations in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States and Belgium.
