Imec Venture Fund Launches with $323M for Startups

Imec’s venture capital fund, imec.xpand, has launched a €300 million ($323 million) fund designed to promote the growth of semiconductor and nanotechnology innovations. Established as a collaborative effort with imec, the fund will invest in startups with the intention of pushing semiconductor innovation beyond traditional applications.

imec.xpand will use a newly established $323 million fund to grow innovative startups pursuing technologies in semiconductor and nanotechnology. Courtesy of imec.

The fund is targeting breakthrough technologies including AI, machine learning, AR/VR, and photonics. In the life sciences, imec.xpand seeks opportunities to advance cell therapy, sequencing, neuromodulation, and other applications to boost the efficacy of medical diagnostics and treatments.

Imec.xpand’s portfolio companies include Celestial AI, which recently raised $175 million to advance its optical compute and memory fabric solution for AI infrastructure; PsiQuantum, which revealed plans to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer in Australia; and Swave Photonics, developer of holographic extended reality chip technology designed for 3D holographic imaging and spatial computing.

The first imec.xpand fund launched in 2017. To date, imec.xpand has invested in 23 companies that, so far, have raised nearly €1.5 billion in financing.