Insights
Design, equipment, materials, fabrication and packaging are spread across the world, and each step is concentrated in only a few places. Explore where each step happens, follow one chip on its journey, and see what is moving in the ecosystem.
Ecosystem signals
New sites, programmes, partnerships and funding rounds across the global semiconductor ecosystem. Selected by SiRah, each dated and linked to its source. Newest first.
Last updated 20 Oct 2026
Oct 2026
Sites & investments
Malta, New York, United States
Up to $21bn of Japanese investment. The first fab is expected to come online in 2029.
Why it matters: Government-to-government capital is now building fabs directly.
Sep 2026
Sites & investments
Surat, India
Assembly, test and packaging for around one billion chips a year, approved under the India Semiconductor Mission.
Why it matters: India’s packaging base is now producing, not only planned.
Sep 2026
Startups & funding
Austin, United States · Small-scale fabs
Builds compact chip fabs and its own equipment, at a $3.7bn valuation.
Why it matters: Whether smaller fabs lower the entry ticket for new locations.
Sep 2026
Startups & funding
Valencia, Spain · Silicon photonics
Optical circuit switching for AI data centres, with NVIDIA joining the round.
Why it matters: Europe’s position in photonics for AI.
Sep 2026
Startups & funding
South Korea · Inference chips
Inference chips built on standard LPDDR5X memory instead of HBM.
Why it matters: Alternatives to scarce high bandwidth memory.
Sep 2026
Programmes & partnerships
New Delhi, India
Among them a local supply of high-purity gases and chemicals for Tata Electronics and a new India Semiconductor Academy with SEMI.
Why it matters: The supply chain around the new fabs is taking shape.
Q3 2026
Programmes & partnerships
European Union
The Commission’s proposal from June is now being negotiated towards a final text.
Why it matters: The funding rules for the next wave of European projects are being written now.
Aug 2026
Sites & investments
West Lafayette, United States
Its first US production hub for high bandwidth memory, planned for around 1,000 employees.
Why it matters: Memory packaging moves closer to the AI customers.
Aug 2026
Programmes & partnerships
Indiana, United States
A framework for joint R&D in advanced packaging, talent recruitment and access to university research.
Why it matters: Universities are becoming part of the site decision.
Jul 2026
Startups & funding
Munich, Germany · Chip inspection
Diamond-based quantum sensing to find defects in advanced chips, from venture and public funding.
Why it matters: Inspection tools for advanced packaging.
Semiconductor startup radar · Q3 2026
$8.5bn
raised by 80 semiconductor startups worldwide in Q3 2026
22
rounds of $100m or more, together nearly $7.5bn
AI and optics
Inference chips, interconnect and photonics drew the most capital
Source: Semiconductor Engineering, Startup Funding Q3 2026 ↗
| Company | Segment | Country | Round | Amount | Lead investor | 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etched | Inference chips | United States | Series C | $1.0bn | Sequoia Capital, Jane Street | Jul to Aug | Link ↗ |
| SambaNova | Dataflow inference chips | United States | Series F | $1.0bn | General Atlantic | Jul | Link ↗ |
| Fab2 | Small-scale fabs | United States | Series A | $500m | Fundomo | Sep | Link ↗ |
| OLIX | Optical inference hardware | United Kingdom | Series B | $312m | Not disclosed | Aug | Link ↗ |
| Evas Intelligence | RISC-V AI chips | China | Not disclosed | $298m | Not disclosed | Sep | Link ↗ |
| Celero Communications | DSPs for AI optics | United States | Series C | $275m | Atreides, Valor, CapitalG | Sep | Link ↗ |
| EUCLYD | AI hardware | Netherlands | Series A | $231m | Not disclosed | Sep | Link ↗ |
| Acrab | AI hardware | Singapore | Series B | $130m | Not disclosed | Aug | Link ↗ |
| iPronics | Optical circuit switching | Spain | Series B | $125m | Maverick Silicon, Light Street Capital | Sep | Link ↗ |
| HyperAccel | Inference chips | South Korea | Series B | ~$111m | Not disclosed | Sep | Link ↗ |
| QuantumDiamonds | Chip inspection | Germany | Venture and public | ~$104m | World Fund | Jul | Link ↗ |
| SweGaN | GaN-on-SiC wafers | Sweden | Series B | $14m | Thisbe AB, North Ventures | Aug | Link ↗ |
Compiled by SiRah from public announcements, company releases and trade press. Each entry is dated and linked to its source. Amounts in US dollars, rounded. For information only, not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.
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