Nanda Technologies raises $4mn in a financing round led by Capital-E and KfW

GERMANY & BELGIUM: Capital-E, a Belgium based Venture Capital company focussing on semiconductor investments, and KfW with his ERP Start-up-Fund, one of the largest German VC funds, are investing alongside with the existing shareholders about $4mn in Nanda Technologies GmbH.

Capital-E will take an active part in the board to support the further growth of Nanda. Other investors include the existing shareholders Brains-to- Ventures, Ventegis Capital AG, Bayern Kapital and DEWB.

Nanda was founded in 2006 and has successfully developed a new system for highthroughput full wafer inspection used in semiconductor manufacturing. Based on a proprietary optical design combined with innovative image processing software Nanda can drastically increase the speed of inspection while maintaining high sensitivity.

The result is a significant decrease in inspection cost per wafer compared to existing tools and the inspection of every wafer in the process flow instead of sampling only a few. The compact design of Nanda’s inspection system makes it attractive to integrate defect inspection directly into the production flow.

Fast error-feedback permits accelerated process adjustments and thus increases process ramp-up and overall productivity. After having successfully installed a first system at a leading industry backed research institute Nanda is working with global semiconductor manufacturers to evaluate the tools for production.

“Despite a difficult year in 2009, Nanda has achieved a first tool installation and very promising engagements on the customer side. We were convinced by the market opportunity and the unique technology, which gives Nanda a sustainable competitive edge”, comments Pascal Vanluchene, Partner at Capital-E. Due to his close links to IMEC and prior investments in micro-electronics ventures, Pascal will take an active role in helping Nanda to grow its business.

“Coming out of a deep recession in 2009, the timing is good for Nanda to execute on a broad market entry in 2010 and 2011. We are happy to have Capital-E and KfW on board to ensure enough liquidity during this critical phase for every start-up company”, says Dr. Christian Reitberger, chairman of the board.

“With the two new investors on board we have a strong shareholder base that could provide, if needed, additional financing throughout break-even of the company. This helps us to focus on market entry and customer interactions,” adds Johannes von Borries, CFO/COO. Nanda will use the proceeds to support pre-production evaluations at leading semiconductor manufacturers.