New investment to drive sustainability in advanced AI chip manufacturing

PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ChEmpower, a semiconductor materials company providing polish pads and chemical solutions for planarization, announced it has raised $18.7M in Series A funding. The funding will help scale its technology for advanced chip manufacturing and packaging. The funding round was co-led by M Ventures and Rhapsody Venture Partners. New and existing investors Intel Capital, Pangaea Ventures, Foothill Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), and TEL Venture Capital also participated in the funding.

ChEmpower is revolutionizing semiconductor manufacturing with its abrasive-free planarization technology. The company provides polishing pads and solutions designed to create defect-free surfaces with superior planarity, enabling higher chip yield and performance. Unlike traditional chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes, which rely on abrasives and often leave residual scratches and particles that reduce yield and increase costs, ChEmpower’s technology simplifies the planarization process, reduces embedded costs, and promotes sustainability by recovering water—an important benefit given that up to 40% of fab water usage is tied to the planarization process.

“The rapid rise of AI and the demand for sustainable, high-performance semiconductors have created a critical opportunity for ChEmpower,” said Sudhanshu Misra, PhD, CEO and co-founder of ChEmpower. “With this new funding, we will accelerate our operations, extend our market reach, and enhance our product offerings, ensuring we remain at the forefront of next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.”

As demand for high-performance AI chips surges, so do the challenges in manufacturing, bandwidth, and advanced packaging as chips shrink and become more complex. Today, 40% of global wafer production occurs at nodes smaller than 10nm, and as these nodes continue to shrink, additional planarization steps are required to enhance performance. ChEmpower’s abrasive-free technology is pivotal for advancing sub-10nm chip production and powering the next generation of AI and advanced semiconductor applications.

Since its inception, ChEmpower has successfully demonstrated key aspects of its platform, including an abrasive-free 300mm copper technology and a pilot line for pad production. This has led to strategic partnerships with leading semiconductor companies and an increasing interest from leading-edge customers.

“At a time when the demands of AI and sustainability are reshaping the semiconductor industry, ChEmpower’s innovative approach offers a compelling solution,” said Scott Shaw, Chief of Staff at Intel Capital. “Their scalable, high-performance technology is precisely the type of breakthrough needed to meet the evolving needs of the semiconductor market, and we are excited to support their journey to lead the next generation of chip manufacturing.”

The funding will enable ChEmpower to scale its manufacturing systems, commercialize its product offerings, and recruit talent across engineering, business development, and operations. The company is also working with industry leaders to bring its technology into semiconductor fabs worldwide.

“ChEmpower’s novel solution exemplifies the kind of high-impact innovation M Ventures backs — precision manufacturing technology with the potential to redefine how advanced semiconductor chips, packaging, and quantum devices are built,” said Owen Lozman, Managing Director at M Ventures. “We’re proud to support a company whose vision aligns with the future of next-generation manufacturing.”

“We are thrilled to co-lead ChEmpower’s Series A with M Ventures. The company has assembled a strong syndicate of investors who bring deep technical expertise and market access,” said Jessica Freyer, PhD, Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners. “ChEmpower’s value proposition extends beyond cost and performance to sustainability. Their next-generation, abrasive-free CMP will unlock new opportunities in semiconductor manufacturing.”

About ChEmpower:

ChEmpower Corporation is an advanced materials and specialized chemistry company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company develops and supplies chemically reactive pads for planarization, offering an abrasive-free alternative to traditional polishing processes. ChEmpower is dedicated to eliminating abrasives from the polish process, improving chip yields, and advancing sustainability standards within the semiconductor industry. Serving a range of semiconductor companies globally, ChEmpower is driving the future of semiconductor manufacturing, supporting the production of next-generation devices, and empowering innovation in high-performance technologies. For more information, visit https://www.chempower-corp.com/.

About M Ventures

M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital fund of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, investing in Biotechnology and Technology. M Ventures covers the areas of Electronics, Frontier Technology & Sustainability, Healthcare drug development, and Life Science tools. We invest – with dual strategic and financial foci – into visionary companies that find new ways to: develop new solutions that change the way in which information is accessed, stored, processed, and displayed and address some of the most complex challenges in sustainability and technology convergence, treat the most challenging diseases and empower scientists with cutting-edge research and development tools. For more information, visit www.m-ventures.com.

About Rhapsody

Rhapsody Venture Partners is a venture firm in Cambridge, MA, that funds early-stage applied science and engineering companies. Rhapsody’s team works side-by-side with entrepreneurs to secure anchor customers that reduce time-to-commercialization and accelerate growth. www.RhapsodyVP.com

Contacts

Media Contact:
Sudhanshu Misra
info@chempower-corp.com

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