German Startup Develops Graphene Semiconductors, Mass Production Expected in 3 Years
German semiconductor startup Black Semiconductor is developing graphene-based technology to solve data transmission bottlenecks between chips. The company expects mass production in about three years and has received over €200 million in government support. The CEO revealed he received technical advice from NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
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- 📰 Published: May 31, 2026 at 21:42
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Central News Agency (CNA) report from Berlin, May 31. German semiconductor startup Black Semiconductor is one of the few startups in Germany investing in its own chip manufacturing. The company aims to use graphene technology to solve data transmission bottlenecks between chips, with mass production expected in about three years. The factory project has received over €200 million (approx. NT$8.4 billion) in support from the German government.
According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the company, founded in 2020, began construction this spring to convert an electric vehicle component factory in Aachen into a semiconductor cleanroom. Co-founder and CEO Daniel Schall stated that if construction proceeds smoothly, the first batch of wafers could be test-produced by the end of this year.
In recent years, Germany has been actively promoting the development of its semiconductor industry, with TSMC's Dresden plant and Infineon's new factory under construction. However, it is rare for a startup only five years old to build its own wafer fab.
According to the report, Black Semiconductor is targeting the increasing data transmission demand in the AI era. With the rapid development of generative AI, data centers must connect thousands of GPUs for joint computing. As the scale of computing grows, data transmission efficiency between chips has become a critical factor affecting AI system performance.
In addition to shrinking chip sizes, the industry has begun to improve performance through chip stacking or advanced packaging technologies, but the demand for data exchange between different chips continues to rise.
Black Semiconductor uses the excellent light-conducting and electrical properties of graphene to develop chip components that can transmit data via optical signals. Compared to traditional electronic signal data exchange, optical signals can transmit large amounts of information quickly over longer distances. If the technology matures, it is expected to be applied in high-performance computing fields such as AI data centers and supercomputers.
Markus Bohl, CEO of German semiconductor startup accelerator Ignite Next, told Handelsblatt that the increasing demand for high-speed data transmission in the AI industry will create huge market opportunities for such technologies. He cited AI chip leader NVIDIA, which has already invested $4 billion in two related startups this year.
Schall also revealed in an interview that he proactively contacted NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang before starting the company to seek technical advice. Huang replied within a day and helped introduce internal photonics experts to exchange ideas.
However, Handelsblatt also pointed out that although graphene is considered a highly promising new material, how to achieve stable and low-cost mass production remains a challenge that global research institutions and the industry are striving to overcome.
According to the plan, Black Semiconductor is still about three years away from mass production. In the future, in addition to continuing technical development, it may need to raise further funds from investors.
Currently, the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have promised subsidies of about €229 million, while venture capital funding is about €26 million.
Since the German government is the largest source of funding, local governments are also actively assisting with factory construction and administrative procedures, hoping to promote this project, which is seen as an important part of Germany's next-generation semiconductor layout. (Editor: Tang Pei-chun)
According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the company, founded in 2020, began construction this spring to convert an electric vehicle component factory in Aachen into a semiconductor cleanroom. Co-founder and CEO Daniel Schall stated that if construction proceeds smoothly, the first batch of wafers could be test-produced by the end of this year.
In recent years, Germany has been actively promoting the development of its semiconductor industry, with TSMC's Dresden plant and Infineon's new factory under construction. However, it is rare for a startup only five years old to build its own wafer fab.
According to the report, Black Semiconductor is targeting the increasing data transmission demand in the AI era. With the rapid development of generative AI, data centers must connect thousands of GPUs for joint computing. As the scale of computing grows, data transmission efficiency between chips has become a critical factor affecting AI system performance.
In addition to shrinking chip sizes, the industry has begun to improve performance through chip stacking or advanced packaging technologies, but the demand for data exchange between different chips continues to rise.
Black Semiconductor uses the excellent light-conducting and electrical properties of graphene to develop chip components that can transmit data via optical signals. Compared to traditional electronic signal data exchange, optical signals can transmit large amounts of information quickly over longer distances. If the technology matures, it is expected to be applied in high-performance computing fields such as AI data centers and supercomputers.
Markus Bohl, CEO of German semiconductor startup accelerator Ignite Next, told Handelsblatt that the increasing demand for high-speed data transmission in the AI industry will create huge market opportunities for such technologies. He cited AI chip leader NVIDIA, which has already invested $4 billion in two related startups this year.
Schall also revealed in an interview that he proactively contacted NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang before starting the company to seek technical advice. Huang replied within a day and helped introduce internal photonics experts to exchange ideas.
However, Handelsblatt also pointed out that although graphene is considered a highly promising new material, how to achieve stable and low-cost mass production remains a challenge that global research institutions and the industry are striving to overcome.
According to the plan, Black Semiconductor is still about three years away from mass production. In the future, in addition to continuing technical development, it may need to raise further funds from investors.
Currently, the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have promised subsidies of about €229 million, while venture capital funding is about €26 million.
Since the German government is the largest source of funding, local governments are also actively assisting with factory construction and administrative procedures, hoping to promote this project, which is seen as an important part of Germany's next-generation semiconductor layout. (Editor: Tang Pei-chun)
FAQ
What is graphene?
A single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, known for its exceptional electrical conductivity and strength.