Invisix is Bringing Soft X-Ray Metrology to AI-Era Chip Manufacturing

Invisix, a Netherlands-based semiconductor metrology company developing soft X-ray measurement systems for advanced logic and memory manufacturing, led by Christina Porter, Sietse van der Post, Roald Dogge, Hens van Ooijen, and the team, has raised an oversubscribed €20 million seed round, which includes Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., and a tier-1 semiconductor manufacturer.

The funding will support team expansion, accelerate development of the first shippable system, and enable customer demonstrations at a new clean room facility in Eindhoven.

Helping Chipmakers See What Optical Tools Cannot.

Modern chip manufacturing requires precise inspection of every layer before production can continue. As advanced logic and memory devices become smaller and more complex, conventional optical tools can no longer resolve many of the critical structures inside them.

These chips power high-performance computing and AI, making accurate measurement essential for improving yields and accelerating new node production. Founded by former ASML engineers and physicists Christina Porter and Sietse van der Post, Invisix is developing a soft X-ray metrology system designed to measure these challenging structures at scale.

A Non-Destructive, High-Throughput Approach

Invisix uses High Harmonic Generation (HHG), a breakthrough technology recognized through the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics, to generate soft X-rays capable of probing structures beyond the reach of conventional inspection tools. Combined with proprietary reconstruction algorithms and machine learning, the system creates detailed 3D views of semiconductor devices.

Unlike many existing techniques, the approach is non-destructive and is designed to deliver the throughput required for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing.

Built on Years of Semiconductor Innovation

Invisix applies the same principle that transformed lithography to metrology, using soft X-rays to measure nanoscale structures beyond the reach of optical tools. The technology builds on years of soft X-ray research licensed from ASML and expertise from industry veterans and leading researchers.

The company has already demonstrated its technology alongside collaborators including Intel and imec, and is now advancing toward its first commercial system for semiconductor manufacturing.

Investor and Founder Perspectives

Invisix believes the semiconductor industry requires a new generation of metrology tools capable of inspecting increasingly complex 3D chip architectures without damaging them. The company is commercializing technology refined over more than a decade within ASML, providing a strong foundation as it moves toward deployment.

Investors highlighted the growing importance of advanced metrology as semiconductor designs become more complex. Backers including Hitachi Ventures and Transition Ventures pointed to Invisix’s proven technology, industry partnerships, and potential to address a critical bottleneck in manufacturing the advanced chips that power AI and high-performance computing.