Lace has raised $40 million in Series A funding to advance a new lithography technology that could reshape semiconductor manufacturing. The Norway-based company is developing a helium atom beam system designed to produce chip features significantly smaller than those enabled by current methods.
Modern chipmakers such as TSMC and Intel rely on photolithography tools supplied by ASML. These systems use extreme ultraviolet light with wavelengths around 13.5 nanometers to etch circuits onto silicon wafers. As demand for more powerful AI chips grows, the industry faces increasing technical limits in shrinking components further.
Lace’s approach replaces light with a helium atom beam measuring roughly 0.1 nanometers in width. This could enable chip features up to ten times smaller than current capabilities, potentially allowing near atomic-level precision in semiconductor design. Smaller transistors would significantly increase computing density and performance, particularly for AI workloads.
The funding round was led by Atomico, with participation from Microsoft’s venture arm M12, Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, and Nysnø. Lace has developed early prototypes and plans to deploy a test system in a pilot fabrication plant by 2029.
The development comes as competition intensifies in AI chip infrastructure. Tesla and SpaceX recently unveiled plans for “Terafab,” a joint factory initiative to produce AI chips for vehicles, robotics, and space-based data centers. The project highlights rising demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing and reinforces the need for new technologies like Lace’s to support next-generation AI systems.
