Black Semiconductor
Black Semiconductor is a German deep-tech company developing Integrated Graphene Photonics technology that co-integrates graphene modulators and photodetectors on CMOS wafers to enable high-speed, energy-efficient chip-to-chip optical connectivity for AI, HPC, data center, and automotive semiconductor customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAachen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Black Semiconductor does
Black Semiconductor is a German deep-tech semiconductor company founded in 2020 in Aachen by brothers Dr. Daniel Schall and Sebastian Schall, developing Integrated Graphene Photonics (IGP) technology that co-integrates graphene-based photonics and CMOS electronics on a single wafer. The core technology produces both electro-absorption modulators and photodetectors — achieving bandwidth exceeding 500 GHz — from the same graphene material, eliminating the need for hybrid bonding, through-silicon vias, and wafer thinning typically required to combine photonic and electronic chips. Product offerings include graphene photodetectors, modulators, Electronic-Photonic Chips (EPICs), and a Glass Panel Interposer concept for rack-scale optical connectivity across XPUs. The company is pre-revenue and has not yet shipped commercial product.
The business model anticipates three revenue streams once FabONE reaches production: hardware sales of graphene photonic chips, technology licensing to semiconductor manufacturers, and co-development and partnership revenue from strategic engagements. Black Semiconductor is building an enterprise field sales motion targeting AI/HPC, hyperscale data center, autonomous driving, and telecommunications customers, with strategic dialogue already underway with Cornelis Networks. The company has raised approximately €265.6M in total funding, including a €254.4M Series A in June 2024 that combines €228.7M of IPCEI public grant funding with €25.7M of private equity co-led by Porsche Ventures and Project A Ventures. The commercial leadership team was assembled in 2024-2025, including CCO Jay Nunez (formerly AMD) and CPO Ogi Brkic (formerly AMD, Intel, and ATI) to build the commercialization function from scratch.
The company operates FabONE, the world's first 300mm 2D material semiconductor pilot fab, comprising 15,000m² of production space and 2,000m² of office space, with construction underway as of March 2026 in partnership with EPC firm Exyte and MES provider Critical Manufacturing. A 200mm graphene wafer platform acquired through the March 2025 acquisition of Dutch specialist Applied Nanolayers now operates as Black Semiconductor Netherlands, providing 10,000 wafers/year of near-term capacity. The production roadmap targets pilot line completion in 2026, pilot production in 2027, and volume production between 2029 and 2031. Headcount stood at approximately 65 employees in mid-2025, with plans to expand to 100-120 high-tech positions in Aachen within two years.
Black Semiconductor firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Black Semiconductor
- Legal name
- Black Semiconductor GmbH
- Website
- https://blacksemi.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Black Semiconductor is a German deep-tech company developing Integrated Graphene Photonics technology that co-integrates graphene modulators and photodetectors on CMOS wafers to enable high-speed, energy-efficient chip-to-chip optical connectivity for AI, HPC, data center, and automotive semiconductor customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Black Semiconductor industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Semiconductor Photonics / Optical Interconnect Chips
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Networking & Data Center Silicon (Switch/NIC/DPU/SerDes) (HDAHABAB), Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC)
Keywords
Where Black Semiconductor is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aachen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Black Semiconductor business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Graphene-based Photonic Chips: Revenue from selling integrated graphene photonics chip products and technology solutions to semiconductor companies, AI/HPC system manufacturers, and data center operators. The company will manufacture and sell chips developed through its IGP technology platform.
- Technology Licensing: Potential licensing of IGP technology platform to semiconductor manufacturers, enabling them to integrate graphene photonics into their own chip production processes using Black Semiconductor's proprietary processes and expertise.
- Co-development and Partnership Revenue: Revenue from strategic partnerships with semiconductor companies for co-development of solutions, including engagement contracts and joint product development arrangements.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Black Semiconductor product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Black Semiconductor develops and manufactures Integrated Graphene Photonics (IGP) technology that enables co-integration of photonics and electronics on a single CMOS-compatible wafer, allowing chips to compute with electrons and communicate with photons. The core product offerings are graphene-based photodetectors, electro-absorption modulators, and Electronic-Photonic Chips (EPICs), supported by the FabONE 300mm pilot manufacturing facility in Aachen, Germany, and the 200mm graphene production platform at the acquired Applied Nanolayers site in the Netherlands.
Product overview
Black Semiconductor is a deep-tech company pioneering Integrated Graphene Photonics (IGP) technology, which integrates high-speed graphene photonics directly onto electronic chips. The core product portfolio includes graphene-based photodetectors (converting optical to electrical signals with >500 GHz bandwidth) and electro-absorption modulators (converting electrical to optical signals via Pauli blocking), both manufactured simultaneously from the same graphene material on standard CMOS processes. The company produces Electronic-Photonic Chips (EPICs) that integrate electronics and photonics on a single wafer, and is developing a Glass Panel Interposer concept for connecting multiple XPUs with optical waveguides. The company operates FabONE, the world's first 300mm pilot facility for graphene-based chip manufacturing in Aachen, Germany. The product architecture enables chip-to-chip optical communication for AI, HPC, data centers, autonomous driving, and robotics applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Integrated Graphene Photonics (IGP) Technology Platform A technology platform that integrates high-speed graphene photonics directly onto any electronic chip, enabling chips to compute with electricity and communicate with photons. The platform allows both modulators and photodetectors to be manufactured simultaneously from the same graphene material, significantly reducing integration complexity compared to silicon photonics or thin-film lithium niobate platforms. Targeted at semiconductor and AI/HPC system manufacturers.
- Graphene Photodetector Graphene-based photodetectors that convert optical signals into electrical signals with ultrafast speed. Uses photo-thermoelectric (PTE) and bolometric effects to achieve bandwidth exceeding 500 GHz, surpassing conventional silicon or III-V photodiodes. Sold to semiconductor companies and AI/HPC system manufacturers building next-generation optical interconnects.
- Graphene Electro-Absorption Modulator Graphene modulators that translate electrical signals into optical signals by precisely tuning light absorption via Pauli blocking. Built with two graphene layers separated by an insulator on a waveguide, achieving high-speed and efficient signal conversion. Sold to semiconductor companies and AI/HPC system manufacturers.
- Electronic-Photonic Chip (EPIC) A single chip integrating electronics and photonics produced using IGP technology, enabling state-of-the-art communication protocols like UCIe 3.0 and PCIe 6.0 on advanced CMOS nodes without complex packaging techniques such as hybrid bonding, TSVs, and wafer thinning. For semiconductor and AI/HPC system manufacturers.
- Glass Panel Interposer A concept that merges electrical connections with an extremely dense network of optical waveguides on glass, enabling photonic interface to every XPU (CPU/GPU) in a system. Allows direct long-distance connections without copper bandwidth and distance constraints, supporting massive optical chip connectivity for hyperscale data center and HPC customers.
- FabONE Manufacturing Facility The world's first 300mm 2D material semiconductor manufacturing facility, located in Aachen, Germany with 15,000m² of production space and 2,000m² of office space. Provides pilot production and high-volume manufacturing of graphene-based photonic chips for semiconductor and AI/HPC customers. Scheduled for pilot line in 2026, pilot production in 2027, and volume production by 2029-2031.
Quantifiable outcome
- Photodetector bandwidth exceeding 500 GHz - significantly faster than conventional silicon or III-V photodiodes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Black Semiconductor
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Black Semiconductor technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Black Semiconductor partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- Critical ManufacturingmajorPortugal-based Critical Manufacturing selected to supply Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and automation platform for Black Semiconductor's FabONE 300mm pilot fab. The fully automated facility will support graphene-based chip interconnect technology at production scale with AI-enabled data platform for analytics and decision-making.
- ExytecoreGlobal design engineering giant selected as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner for FabONE facility. Exyte is a semiconductor industry leader trusted by largest manufacturers worldwide for building pilot line fabs to mega-fabs. Partnership ensures FabONE is built to same technical standards as largest fabs globally.
- Applied Nanolayers (ANL)coreAcquisition of Dutch graphene specialist Applied Nanolayers to accelerate IGP technology development. ANL's team of 10 material experts with 12+ years of experience in graphene production joined Black Semiconductor, advancing technology development timeline by two years. ANL now operates as Black Semiconductor Netherlands with semi-automated 200mm platform capable of 10,000 wafers/year.
- Cornelis NetworksmajorStrategic dialogue and partnership exploration with Cornelis Networks, a leader in high-performance networking solutions. Companies discussing convergence of HPC and AI workloads and how Black Semiconductor's graphene photonics can address data movement bottlenecks in compute infrastructure. Cornelis CEO Lisa Spelman conducted interview with Black Semiconductor CPO at ISC conference.
- ASMLcoreListed as one of the industry's leading semiconductor equipment providers building FabONE alongside TEL and KLA. ASML is a key equipment partner for the 300mm pilot line.
- TEL (Tokyo Electron)coreListed as one of the industry's leading semiconductor equipment providers building FabONE alongside ASML and KLA. TEL provides process equipment for graphene integration.
- KLA CorporationcoreListed as one of the industry's leading semiconductor equipment providers building FabONE alongside ASML and TEL. KLA provides inspection and metrology equipment.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Black Semiconductor competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ayar Labs: Ayar Labs develops optical I/O chiplets that use silicon photonics to replace electrical chip-to-chip interconnects. Direct competitor to Black Semiconductor in providing high-bandwidth, energy-efficient optical interconnect solutions for AI/HPC data center applications.
- Celestial AI: Celestial AI builds a Photonic Fabric platform using silicon photonics to enable memory-to-memory and chip-to-chip optical connectivity for AI accelerators. Directly competes with Black Semiconductor's IGP approach to solving the AI data movement bottleneck.
- Lightmatter: Lightmatter develops photonic AI processors and interconnects using silicon photonics, targeting the same AI/HPC compute and interconnect bottleneck that Black Semiconductor addresses with graphene photonics.
- POET Technologies: POET Technologies offers integrated optoelectronic platforms that combine photonics and electronics on a single wafer using its proprietary dielectric waveguide technology — directly comparable to Black Semiconductor's IGP approach of electronic-photonic integration.
Broad incumbents
- Intel (Silicon Photonics): Intel has an established silicon photonics business producing integrated optical transceivers and is investing heavily in co-packaged optics. As a broader incumbent in semiconductor manufacturing with significant photonic interconnect R&D, Intel represents the dominant incumbent threat to emerging photonic interconnect players.
- Marvell Technology: Marvell (acquired Inphi) is a leading supplier of high-speed networking silicon including DSPs and coherent optical interconnect solutions for data centers. Its Inphi division competes directly with emerging photonic interconnect technologies in the same data center and AI infrastructure markets.
- Cisco (Acacia): Cisco's Acacia division is a leader in coherent optical interconnect technology for data center and telecommunications infrastructure. While focused on long-haul coherent optics rather than chip-to-chip interconnect, it represents a major incumbent with photonic expertise addressing overlapping customer needs.
- GlobalFoundries: GlobalFoundries is a major semiconductor foundry offering silicon photonics process platforms (e.g., 9WG, 45CLO) for integrated photonic-electronic devices. As a broad incumbent foundry, it could partner with or compete against Black Semiconductor's foundry services for photonic chip customers.
Emerging players
- Salience Labs: Salience Labs is developing photonic AI accelerator chips using silicon photonics for high-bandwidth matrix multiplication. While focused on compute rather than interconnect, it operates in the same emerging photonic AI infrastructure space as Black Semiconductor.
- Lightelligence: Lightelligence builds photonic computing hardware and platforms for AI workloads using optical matrix multiplication. As an emerging player in photonic AI infrastructure, it competes in adjacent technology and customer segments to Black Semiconductor's photonic interconnect platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Black Semiconductor social profiles
Digital presenceBlack Semiconductor financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Black Semiconductor leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Black Semiconductor subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Black Semiconductor funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Black Semiconductor M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Black Semiconductor
What does Black Semiconductor do?
Black Semiconductor develops and manufactures Integrated Graphene Photonics (IGP) technology that enables co-integration of photonics and electronics on a single CMOS-compatible wafer, allowing chips to compute with electrons and communicate with photons. The core product offerings are graphene-based photodetectors, electro-absorption modulators, and Electronic-Photonic Chips (EPICs), supported by the FabONE 300mm pilot manufacturing facility in Aachen, Germany, and the 200mm graphene production platform at the acquired Applied Nanolayers site in the Netherlands.
Is Black Semiconductor a public or private company?
Black Semiconductor is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Black Semiconductor founded?
Black Semiconductor was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Black Semiconductor based?
Black Semiconductor is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Black Semiconductor make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Graphene-based Photonic Chips are the primary driver. The others are technology Licensing and co-development and Partnership Revenue.
Who are Black Semiconductor's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ayar Labs, Celestial AI, Lightmatter and POET Technologies. Broad incumbents are Intel (Silicon Photonics), Marvell Technology, Cisco (Acacia) and GlobalFoundries. Emerging players are Salience Labs and Lightelligence.
Does Black Semiconductor have an API?
No public API is recorded for Black Semiconductor.
What industry is Black Semiconductor in?
Black Semiconductor's product category is Semiconductor Photonics / Optical Interconnect Chips. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHACAG, Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser), with a secondary code of HDAHABAB, Networking & Data Center Silicon (Switch/NIC/DPU/SerDes). Its NAICS code is 334413 and its SIC code is 3674.