Edinburgh-based Cnuic Technologies has raised €3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Tensor Ventures and Blank Space Ventures, as it looks to advance a new approach to semiconductor manufacturing, as Vestbee was told.
- Founded by co-founders Omar Durrani and Ben Szutor, alongside Dorian Urban, founding engineer, and David Semmens, founding advisor, the company develops next-generation optical lithography systems aimed at reshaping how semiconductor components are produced.
- At the core of its technology is a “virtual mask” photolithography system, which replaces traditional physical masks used in chip fabrication with reconfigurable, light-based patterning tools.
- This method allows nanoscale structures to be projected and controlled with high precision, enabling the creation of complex 3D photonic components with greater flexibility than conventional manufacturing techniques.
- In practical terms, Cnuic’s platform is designed to support the production of photonic chips, which process and transmit data using light photons instead of electric electrons. The company says this approach could enable faster data transfer, reduced heat generation, and more efficient high-performance computing systems, particularly in data centres and AI workloads.
Details of the deal
- The funding round also included participation from Silicon Roundabout Ventures, Phasechange, SANDS, and Superlative.
“Cnuic’s technology can democratize the production of photonic chips in much the same way that PCs democratized computing power. From a deep tech perspective, this is a completely new technology and a major breakthrough that could mean a whole new role for Europe in the semiconductor industry," Tensor Ventures' team, commented in a press release.
- The newly raised capital will be used to scale and further develop Cnuic’s prototype technology, moving it closer to industrial-level production and expanding its capability to fabricate reconfigurable, high-precision photonic structures at scale.
