Semiconductor Equipment: Unveiling New Opportunities - 36Kr

As chip manufacturing processes continue to evolve, the semiconductor equipment industry is witnessing a new golden era. Recently, Dutch unicorn Nearfield Instruments completed a $380 million Series D... Read original →

Nearfield Instruments’ $380M raise signals a structural shift: as GAA and CFET architectures demand sub-nanometer metrology, eBeam and SEMVision G7AP systems are displacing optical methods, escalating complexity in deposition and etch. Tools like Applied Materials’ Cryo 3.0 and Lam’s Nokota VMax 2 are becoming essential for high-aspect-ratio processing. Geopolitically driven fab regionalization inflates equipment spending but also compliance costs—especially under tightening U.S.-Dutch export controls, forcing foundries in Taiwan, China; South Korea; and mainland China to build redundant supply chains. With Samsung and SK Hynix racing toward HBM4 and 3D DRAM, TSMC and Intel will increasingly rely on co-developed, bespoke tools, potentially locking in exclusive vendor partnerships. Over the next 18 months, only equipment makers with integrated capabilities in hybrid bonding and High-NA EUV support will command pricing power; others lacking process co-optimization will be marginalized from advanced nodes.