Munich-based QuantumDiamonds has raised €91 million to scale its quantum-based chip inspection technology, marking a rare moment in Europe’s semiconductor push: a young startup has been approved for manufacturing funding under the EU Chips Act.
Europe’s chip gap is no longer just a policy talking point. The region produces roughly 10% of the world’s chips while consuming about 20% of them, and that imbalance is now shaping where public money flows.
QuantumDiamonds, a three-year-old startup from Munich, has secured €91 million in fresh funding to bring its diamond-based inspection systems into larger-scale production. The round includes €15 million in equity led by World Fund, with participation from Bayern Kapital, IQ Capital, Earlybird, First Momentum, UnternehmerTUM, Creator Fund and Onsight Ventures.
The larger portion, €76 million, is non-dilutive funding from the German federal government and the Free State of Bavaria. The funding was approved under the European Chips Act on June 23.
What makes the approval stand out is not just the size of the cheque. Until now, manufacturing grants under the Chips Act have gone to established semiconductor names such as GlobalFoundries, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, X-FAB, ams OSRAM and Diamond Foundry Europe. QuantumDiamonds is the first startup approved in this manufacturing funding category.
For Europe, the decision points to a wider bet: the next breakthrough in chipmaking may not only come from bigger fabs, but also from better tools that help manufacturers find defects faster.
Why chipmakers care about diamonds?
QuantumDiamonds was founded in 2022 by chief executive Kevin Berghoff and chief technology officer Fleming Bruckmaier as a spin-out from the Technical University of Munich.
Its technology uses atomic-scale defects in synthetic diamonds to detect magnetic fields with high precision. In simple terms, the system looks beyond the surface of a chip and maps the electrical currents inside it. That matters because modern chips are becoming smaller, denser and more three-dimensional, making defects harder to find with traditional inspection tools.
The company’s first commercial system, QDm.1, offers non-destructive, three-dimensional current imaging at the nanoscale. It can help identify the depth and location of defects inside advanced chip packages without breaking them apart. Work that previously took weeks in specialised labs can be done in minutes.
That speed is important in semiconductor production, where even a small improvement in yield can be worth millions each week for high-volume products.
“The response from leading chipmakers has been clear: they see our technology as essential for solving yield challenges that today’s systems can’t address,” said Berghoff.
A startup in a market dominated by giants
The inspection and metrology market is still largely led by established equipment companies. KLA Corporation, Applied Materials and Onto Innovation remain major names in traditional optical and electron-beam inspection.
QuantumDiamonds is taking a different route. Instead of depending on light, X-rays or electron beams alone, it is using quantum sensing to reveal electrical activity inside chip structures. The company has already tested its technology with nine of the world’s ten largest chipmakers.
Its closest technical competitor, Swiss diamond-sensing startup Qnami, was acquired by Quantum Design in June. That leaves QuantumDiamonds with a clear opening, but also a familiar startup challenge: turning technical validation into commercial contracts before bigger players move in.
What comes next
QuantumDiamonds plans to open the first part of a €152 million production facility in eastern Munich in the second half of 2026. The facility will produce its current and future inspection systems.
For investors, the pitch is about more than one startup. World Fund managing partner Daria Saharova described the company as a potential European equipment champion, calling it “Europe’s next ASML” and pointing to the strategic importance of chipmaking tools.
IQ Capital partner Mason Sinclair, whose firm first backed the company in late 2023, said the pace of progress has been “exceptional,” citing its technical team and partnerships across the chip ecosystem.
The bigger test now is commercial execution. QuantumDiamonds has public funding, investor backing and interest from leading chipmakers. Its next milestone will be proving that its diamond-based inspection systems can become part of everyday semiconductor manufacturing, not just a promising technology tested in pilots.
If it succeeds, Europe’s chip strategy may gain something it badly wants: not only more capacity, but also a homegrown company building critical tools for the factories that will define the next generation of computing.
To find out more about the latest industry updates and innovations in semiconductor fab construction, meet with solution providers and hear talks from expert speakers, attend the 4th Constructing Semiconductor FAB Summit Europe: Advances in Planning, Design and Engineering, taking place October 21-22, 2026, in Munich, Germany.
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