Europe wants to be a global leader in semiconductors and chip manufacturing. And now, the German government is making a big bet on a disruptive startup.

‍What’s happening:‍

• Black Semiconductor has raised $273M USD in one of the largest financing rounds ever for a semiconductor company
  
• The vast majority of the new capital comes from public funding provided by the German government
  

Why it matters:‍

• The enormous rise in venture backed artificial intelligence startups has spurred a boom in demand for semiconductor companies and chip manufacturers, leading to a meteoric rise in the price of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and the beginning of purpose built venture capital funds focused solely on backing early stage semiconductor startups
  

Going deeper:‍

• Europe has launched multiple different projects to be on the leading edge of both semiconductors and artificial intelligence chip manufacturing, including the European Chip Act which will commit more than €6B in funding to large companies and startups based in the European Union
  
• Black Semiconductor will use the majority of the new funding to build out their first pilot production facility in Aachen, Germany to accelerate the development of their semiconductor technology and manufacturing capabilities
  

The intrigue:‍

• Black Semiconductor is using graphene to be able to connect multiple chips together and enable them to communicate, which could significantly increase the speed in which data is processed as well as overall energy efficiency

‍