14.4.2026. AlixLabs, a pioneer in Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that it has closed its Series A funding round.
Categories
Microelectronics
AlixLabs: AlixLabs closes €15 million Series A with strategic investment from Stephen Industries
Share this Post
IMAGE: Alixlabs
Tags
Contact info
Silicon Saxony
Marketing, Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Manfred-von-Ardenne-Ring 20 F
Fax: +49 351 8925 889
Contact person:
AlixLabs, a pioneer in Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) technology for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that it has closed its Series A financing round in Q1 2026 following a strategic investment by Stephen Industries. Stephen Industries is a Finnish investment firm with a strong track record of scaling advanced technology companies.
The investment marks a strategic milestone for AlixLabs as the company continues to develop its proprietary ALE solutions – particularly its flagship APS™ (Atomic Pitch Splitting) technology, which is designed to enable more precise, efficient and cost-effective semiconductor manufacturing.
A key aspect of the partnership is the involvement of Kustaa Poutiainen from Stephen Industries, whose experience in building and scaling deep tech companies provides significant strategic value. Poutiainen previously played a central role in the growth of Picosun, a Nordic Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) company that has become a global market leader in its field. Given the close technological affinity between ALD and ALE, this track record is particularly relevant to AlixLabs’ mission.
“Stephen Industries brings deep industrial expertise and a proven ability to scale businesses in adjacent technology areas,” said Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs. “Kustaa’s experience with Picosun is particularly valuable as we move from the development phase to broader commercialization of our APS™ platform.”
Atomic Layer Etching is widely seen as a key enabler for future semiconductor technology nodes, complementing ALD processes by enabling atomic-level precision in material removal. As device architectures become increasingly complex, ALE is expected to play a central role in future manufacturing.
“AlixLabs is operating in a very promising area of semiconductor process technology,” said Kustaa Poutiainen, Chairman and President of Stephen Industries. “Having seen first-hand how ALD has evolved from a niche innovation to a critical industry standard, I see strong parallels with ALE. AlixLabs has the potential to follow a similar path.”
The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand technical capabilities and strengthen partnerships with semiconductor manufacturers.
The investment strengthens AlixLabs’ position as a key innovator in the European semiconductor ecosystem and supports the company’s ambition to become a global leader in atomic layer etching.
This press release has been machine translated.
