With EU backing, QuantumDiamonds aims to speed up chip manufacturing
German startup QuantumDiamonds has secured €76 million in non-dilutive funding from German authorities and €15 million in equity from investors to build a chip inspection equipment facility in Munich, using quantum sensing with synthetic diamonds to detect defects in minutes.
Europe’s push to boost its semiconductor industry is gaining momentum. QuantumDiamonds, a German startup specializing in novel chip inspection technology, has received significant financial support from EU-backed programs.
The European Commission approved €76 million in non-dilutive funding provided by Germany’s federal economy ministry and the state of Bavaria. The money will be used to set up a new facility for producing semiconductor testing equipment in Munich, part of a previously announced $178 million investment plan.
Additionally, TechCrunch exclusively learned that QuantumDiamonds has raised a €15 million equity round led by VC firm World Fund. The round also included Bayern Kapital and existing investors such as Creator Fund, Earlybird, First Momentum, IQ Capital, Onsight Ventures, and UnternehmerTUM. The company declined to disclose its valuation, but CEO Kevin Berghoff said the fundraising process was quick due to clear customer demand.
A spinout from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), QuantumDiamonds leverages synthetic diamonds to observe how electricity flows through chips, detecting defects across all layers without damaging the chip. This process, which typically takes weeks, is now completed in two minutes without stopping production lines. According to Berghoff, this can save hundreds of millions of dollars for manufacturers like Taiwan-based foundries and Korea’s memory makers. The equipment typically pays for itself within a few months, with additional subscription fees for software and on-site support.
This is one of the first practical applications of quantum technology – quantum sensing can generate magnetic fields with high precision for defect detection, and that’s all customers care about. "They couldn’t care less about it being quantum," Berghoff said with a laugh.
The startup has moved from the lab to client labs and now aims to enter semiconductor fabs. Currently, its lab tool tests about one in a million chips, but the goal is to develop a high-throughput system for 100% quality control in fabs. The lab tools cost single-digit millions of euros, while the high-throughput system could be $10–15 million – far less than ASML machines, which can cost around $400 million.
World Fund managing partner Daria Saharova suggested QuantumDiamonds could become "Europe’s next ASML," but Berghoff noted that ASML itself might expand into inspection and potentially acquire the startup. For now, QuantumDiamonds is at an early stage but has already expanded internationally in 2026, opening a regional hub in Taiwan and completing first commercial deployments in Taiwan and the U.S. (Eurofins EAG Laboratories in Sunnyvale, California).
The new funding will create jobs in Munich, where most of its 70 employees are based. Berghoff and co-founder and CTO Fleming Bruckmaier plan to double the engineering team over the next 12 months, leveraging available talent in quantum and semiconductor fields. "We have what we need here to ship overseas," Berghoff said.
