Irish deep tech raises €3.5 million to help make semiconductors

Impedans, headquartered in Dublin, hopes to have increased its workforce by 40 percent by the end of this year as demand for chips continues to grow.

Irish deep-tech start-up Impedans has announced it has raised €3.5 million for its sensor technology used to monitor semiconductor plasma processing equipment.

Impedans develops intelligent detection platforms for radio frequency (RF) and plasma process monitoring. Applications of the technology include process development, tool design, process control, flaw detection and classification, primarily in the semiconductor industry.

Other industries where Impedans technology can be used include vacuum coating, medical devices, hard drives and aerospace. The company was founded in 2004 by Mike Hopkins and is based in Dublin.

The Series B funding round was supported by several new and existing investors, including SOSV and Enterprise Ireland.

“SOSV is proud to support such a global and strategically important technology in the chip making space. This round supports a true Irish deep tech win and is a shining example of team Ireland standing way above its weight,” said Bill Liao, SSOV general partner.

“Great team, great market, great technology and great timing.”

At the head of the Impedans team is CEO Dr. David Gahan, who was previously a postdoctoral researcher studying RF plasma properties at Dublin City University.

“This is an important milestone for our business as we grow to meet the demands of the global semiconductor market, which is expected to reach $1T by 2030,” he said of the latest funding round.

Despite the prevailing economic conditions, Impedans expects the semiconductor market to achieve low double-digit growth in 2022.

“Our patented technology enables companies to both reduce downtime and increase process repeatability, critical factors for this fast-growing industry.”

Gahan added that the funding “will be critical to driving a strategy of continuous innovation and help consolidate our position as leaders in the field” as Impedans plans to increase its workforce by 40 percent this year. .

“Enterprise Ireland is proud to continue supporting this Irish-owned world leader. Their key markets offer huge growth potential and we believe they are in a position to capitalize on this,” said Gillian Baker, senior development advisor at Enterprise Ireland.

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