Black Semiconductor
RWTH Aachen spin-off integrating graphene photonics onto standard chips to move data between processors with light; building a 300 mm pilot line in Aachen with IPCEI support.
- Sector
- Semiconductors
- Headquarters
- Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia
- Founded
- 2020
- Ownership
- Private, venture-backed with public IPCEI funding
- Known for
- Graphene photonics back-end-of-line process
- Website
- www.blacksemiconductor.com
- Topics
- graphene photonics chip interconnect IPCEI RWTH spin-off
What they do
Black Semiconductor develops a way to add graphene-based optical devices on top of conventional silicon chips. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, can convert electrical signals into light and back. Black Semi's process works in the back-end-of-line, the wiring layers built after the transistors, so it is designed to be compatible with standard CMOS manufacturing. The aim is optical links between chips and on-chip optical routing, so that data moves between processors and memory as light rather than through copper.
Why it matters
In AI data centres, moving data between chips now costs as much energy and time as computing on it. Silicon photonics is one answer, but integrating it is complex. Black Semi argues that graphene devices can be deposited on finished chips, potentially cutting manufacturing steps; the company has cited around 60 per cent fewer steps, which remains to be proven at volume. Its published timetable foresees a 300 mm pilot line operating in 2026, pilot production in 2027 and volume production targeted for 2031. In September 2026 North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst visited the Aachen site to mark a new construction phase of its roughly 15,000 square metre production and development facility.
Products to know
- Graphene photonics process for chip-to-chip and fibre-to-chip interfaces, intended for licensing and manufacturing partnerships.
The German angle
The company was founded in 2020 in Aachen by brothers Daniel and Sebastian Schall, out of RWTH Aachen's research environment. In June 2024 it announced financing of 254.4 million euros, of which 228.7 million came from the federal government and North Rhine-Westphalia under the EU's IPCEI microelectronics scheme and the remainder from private investors including Porsche Ventures, Project A and Scania Growth. That ratio, roughly nine public euros to one private, is typical of how Germany now funds early semiconductor manufacturing, and it carries political as well as commercial expectations.
Sources
Stories
Why Germany's deep-tech founders cluster around Munich, Aachen and Dresden
Three cities produce a striking share of Germany's hardware start-ups. The reasons are older and more specific than talent alone, and the failures of Lilium and Volocopter show the limits.
Twelve German deep-tech startups building real hardware
Photonic processors, e-fuel plants, wildfire satellites, graphene chips and heat batteries: twelve young German companies whose products you can weigh, install or launch.
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Last reviewed 4 November 2026. Main source: thenextweb.com/news/black-semiconductor-raises-e254-4m-graph. Something out of date? Suggest a correction.