Finance
Microsoft-Backed Startup Raises $40 Million for Advanced Chipmaking Equipment Tech
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 23, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 23, 2026
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Quick Summary
Lace, a Microsoft-backed Norwegian startup, raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Atomico and backed by M12 and others to develop helium atom‑beam lithography promising atomic‑scale precision in chipmaking and a pilot tool by 2029.
Microsoft-Backed Lace Raises $40 Million for Advanced Chipmaking Equipment
By Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis
Lace's Breakthrough in Semiconductor Manufacturing
SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 (Reuters) - Lace, a Norway-headquartered chipmaking equipment startup which is backed by Microsoft, has raised $40 million in funding to further develop a technology that could enable significant advances in semiconductor design and manufacturing, the company said on Monday.
The Current State of Chipmaking Technology
To make cutting-edge chips, manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Intel employ a process called lithography that uses light to draw complex circuits that form the foundation of advanced artificial intelligence chips.
Manufacturers use light-based lithography systems made by the Dutch company ASML - which dominates the market - as they race to shrink chip components and squeeze in more features to boost the computing horsepower on a limited area of silicon.
The field has drawn fresh interest from investors and governments as a new round of startups emerges, some of which aim to compete with the Dutch firm.
Lace's Innovative Helium Atom Beam Lithography
Lace has developed a new approach. Instead of light, Lace's engineers have made a form of lithography that uses a helium atom beam. With that, the Norwegian company will be able to create chip designs that are 10 times as small as what is currently possible, CEO Bodil Holst told Reuters in an interview.
"Our technology is a way that can potentially expand the roadmap and be an enabler for doing things that would not have been possible otherwise," Holst said.
Advantages of Helium Atom Beam Technology
The main advantage of the helium atom beam is the industry could create features such as transistors, the building blocks of modern chips, an order of magnitude smaller to an "almost unimaginable" degree, according to John Petersen, Scientific Director of Lithography at Imec, a research and innovation hub for the chip industry.
The beam Lace will use to make chips is about the width of a single hydrogen atom, or 0.1 nanometer. ASML's lithography tools use a beam of light that is about 13.5 nanometers; a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide.
Smaller transistors and other features would give chipmakers the ability to ramp up the performance of advanced AI processors well beyond the current capabilities. Lace's technology would enable chip manufacturers to print wafers at what is "ultimately atomic resolution," Holst said.
Funding and Future Plans
The Bergen-headquartered company's Series A funding round was led by Atomico with additional investments from Microsoft's venture arm M12, Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation and Nysnø.
Lace, which declined to comment on its overall valuation, has developed prototype systems and aims to have a test tool in a pilot chip fabrication plant, or fab, around 2029. The company presented its findings in an invited research paper at a scientific lithography summit in February.
(Reporting by Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Nick Zieminski)
Key Takeaways
- •Lace’s novel helium‑atom beam lithography could enable feature sizes around 0.1 nm—roughly 100× smaller than ASML’s 13.5 nm EUV systems—potentially unlocking unprecedented chip density and AI performance (builtinsf.com).
- •The $40 million Series A funding round, led by Atomico with participation from Microsoft’s M12, Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation and Norwegian Nysnø, will accelerate prototype development toward a pilot fab tool slated for 2029 (owler.com).
- •Lace joins a growing wave of lithography challengers—including U.S. startup Substrate, which raised over $100 million to develop compact lithography hardware competing with ASML—highlighting surging investor and national interest in diversifying chipmaking tools (builtinsf.com).
References
Frequently Asked Questions about Microsoft-backed startup raises $40 million for advanced chipmaking equipment tech
1What is Lace and what does it do?
Lace is a Norway-based chipmaking equipment startup that develops advanced lithography technology using a helium atom beam to enable smaller chip features.
2How much funding did Lace raise and who are the investors?
Lace raised $40 million in Series A funding led by Atomico, with investments from Microsoft’s M12, Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, and Nysnø.
3What is unique about Lace’s chipmaking technology?
Unlike traditional lithography using light, Lace’s technology uses a helium atom beam, allowing for chip features up to 10 times smaller than current methods.
4When does Lace plan to have its technology in a pilot chip fabrication plant?
Lace aims to have a test tool in a pilot chip fabrication plant, or fab, around 2029.
