EUV photon, a startup developing services to measure and evaluate extreme ultraviolet (EUV) materials and light, announced on 29 June that it had raised approximately ¥880m ($5m) in a seed funding round. The round combined equity and debt.
The company was founded in 2024. It is a startup that emerged from Kyushu University, a national university in Japan, and is headquartered in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, the same city as the university’s main campus. Its management and executives are also drawn mainly from people connected to Kyushu University.
Aiming for an environment less reliant on foreign institutions for EUV evaluation
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration has placed AI and semiconductors at the top of the 17 strategic priority areas in its economic policy, the “Japan Growth Strategy”. Rapidus, in which the Japanese government has invested ¥250bn, was established before the Japan Growth Strategy was drawn up, but can be seen as emblematic of this policy.
Rapidus has faced criticism as a “state-led company”, but independent moves are also emerging in the private sector within the semiconductor industry. Nikon president Yasuhiro Omura said in May that the company intends to take on ASML in exposure equipment, a core part of photolithography, speaking to the media. Nikon and Canon once held strong positions in photolithography, but were overtaken by the Netherlands’ ASML. Omura said that for its ArF exposure equipment, Nikon manufactures many components in-house, giving it a cost advantage over ASML.
Against this backdrop in Japan’s semiconductor market, EUV photon is reportedly aiming to bring in-house, within Japan, EUV research, development and evaluation work currently outsourced to institutions overseas. Kyushu University, EUV photon’s parent institution, has the technological foundation for a practical EUV light source developed by Professor Tatsuo Okada, and the company draws on this. In concrete terms, it provides technical support to materials manufacturers and other semiconductor-related companies in Japan.
Funds raised to go towards EUV open-frame exposure equipment and other tools
In the seed round, several venture capital firms participated on the equity side. On the debt side, The Bank of Fukuoka and Japan Finance Corporation provided loans.
Top of the list of intended uses for the funds is the introduction of an “irradiation and analysis system centred on EUV open-frame exposure equipment”. EUV open-frame exposure equipment, unlike exposure equipment used on production lines, is specialised for research and development. The funds will also be used to build out service delivery capabilities and for hiring.
