Rotterdam, The Netherlands, [2021]
Nearfield Instruments (NFI) announced the completion of a €12 million in equity funding, bringing the total amount raised this round at €48.5 million. The new investments were received from existing shareholders Eugene Investment & Securities, a Korean financial services firm, and Innovation Industries Fund, a Dutch independent venture capital fund.
Founded in 2016, Nearfield Instruments, a spin-off of TNO, has emerged as the key player for semiconductor metrology solutions. NFI has introduced revolutionary scanning probe microscopy technologies for in-line, non-destructive on-surface, and sub-surface metrology applications. Since its inception, NFI has developed and delivered its first on-surface metrology product, QUADRA, while growing to more than 100 employees, with offices in Rotterdam, Eindhoven, and Hwaesong, South Korea.
“This funding round is the validation of the significant progress we have achieved with QUADRA after shipment to the customer’s fab and the role our technology is set to have in new semiconductor device manufacturing. We are excited to be able to accelerate engagements with more customers, scaling up the organization, and bringing our second product line to the market, being non-destructive subsurface nano-scale metrology. I am extremely happy with the large and complementary contributions by our Korean & Dutch shareholders.”, comments Hamed Sadeghian, CEO of Nearfield Instruments.
Kee-Won Ohm, investment director at Eugene Investment & Securities, on the investment: “EUGENE is delighted to support NFI’s goal in becoming the world’s top-class Metrology & Inspection company. We see tremendous growth potential in the company, and since our first investment in 2019 NFI has made significant progress by delivering its first product, QUADRA, to a major semiconductor manufacturer. This has triggered strong industry traction, and we are thrilled to be a part of the exciting journey ahead.”
Nard Sintenie (General Partner at Innovation Industries) adds: “Nearfield Instruments has made significant progress since the shipment and installation of QUADRA in December. The increased worldwide customer interest in QUADRA and NFI’s sub-surface metrology solution is reflected by the investment by our fellow shareholder EUGENE. We are happy to further support the company by also joining this round and, together with EUGENE, enabling the further upscaling of Nearfield Instruments.”
