Europe wants to make more chips. And a German startup called QuantumDiamonds just got a serious boost to help make that happen — €76 million in non-dilutive funding from the European Commission, Germany’s federal economy ministry, and the state of Bavaria.
That’s part of a broader $178 million investment plan the company already announced. The money goes toward a new semiconductor testing equipment facility in Munich.
What does QuantumDiamonds actually do? It uses quantum sensors — built from synthetic diamonds — to detect defects inside chips. The key difference from current methods is that today’s inspections mostly look at the top layer with a microscope. QuantumDiamonds can see through all layers without destroying the chip.
That matters because chips are getting more complex. More layers. Smaller transistors can only shrink so much, so manufacturers stack layers instead. Finding defects deep inside those stacks is a real problem — and it’s one QuantumDiamonds claims it can solve in about two minutes.
CEO Kevin Berghoff says the process usually takes weeks with traditional methods. Their hardware typically pays for itself within a couple of months, he claims, and customers pay a subscription fee on top for the software and on-site support.
The startup also raised a €15 million equity round led by World Fund, with Bayern Kapital and existing investors backing it.
The company is already working with “almost everyone in the chip ecosystem,” says Berghoff. No US or Asian competitor has shipped comparable tools yet. But at some point, the big players will adapt. For now, QuantumDiamonds has the first-mover advantage — and €76 million to press it.
