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Forge Nano, Inc. announced the successful close of $40 million in new funding. The funding was co-led by RockCreek, a global investment firm managing over $15 billion in assets with a strong focus on energy innovation, critical supply chains and advanced manufacturing, and Ascent Funds, a US based global energy technology fund. Additional participants include Top Material (KRX: 360070), Orion Infrastructure Capital and Forge Nano’s existing investors.
With this latest raise, Forge Nano’s total capital investment now exceeds $140 million, adding RockCreek to a shareholder roster that includes GM Ventures (NYSE: GM), Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY), LG Technology Ventures (KRX: 003550), Hanwha (KRX: 000880), Mitsui Kinzoku (OTC: MMSMY), Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (OTC: SSUMF), Air Liquide (OTC: AIQUY), Catalus Capital and SBI Investment (OTC: SBHGF).
“RockCreek’s commitment to American manufacturing, energy security and global technology leadership makes them an ideal partner as we continue to scale,” said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. “This capital allows us to build on our momentum in two crucial industries needed for U.S. manufacturing leadership – lithium-ion batteries and semiconductors. We look forward to expanding our domestic workforce as we scale our production capabilities and grow our customer base.”
Forge Nano operates two high-growth business units that can directly impact the United States’ advanced manufacturing competitiveness:
- U.S.-Made, High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries:
Forge Battery, the commercial lithium-ion battery production subsidiary of Forge Nano, designs and manufactures lithium-ion cells with industry-leading energy density that incorporate critical minerals coated using Forge Nano’s Atomic ArmorTM technology. Manufactured using a predominately U.S. material supply chain, the company’s battery products are tailored to provide a secure supply chain and industry leading performance for defense, aerospace and specialty applications. In January 2025, Forge Battery was awarded $100 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand domestic cell manufacturing at its North Carolina facility. - Advanced Semiconductor ALD Capital Equipment:
Forge Nano’s TEPHRA™ platform, launched in mid-2024, is the world’s fastest single-wafer semiconductor ALD coating tool with commercial throughput for 200mm wafers. TEPHRA™ produces cutting-edge nano-coatings that can unlock chips with 40% faster processing speeds with 50% reduced power consumption, addressing the industry’s growing demand for next-gen devices, sensors, and edge AI computing. The company’s atomic layer deposition (ALD) tools are engineered and built in the U.S., bolstering America’s domestic semiconductor capabilities.
“Forge Nano’s proprietary technology demonstrates that America continues to be the leader in innovation. Forge’s Atomic Armor significantly improves most battery chemistries with higher energy density, longer cycle life, faster charge speed, and lower risk of thermal runway,” said Mark Gordon, Managing Partner of Ascent Funds. “For semiconductors, Forge’s ALD removes a bottleneck to 3D chip stacking, allowing up to a 50% reduction in energy usage by chips. More efficient batteries are critical to national security. More efficient semiconductors will amplify the American lead in AI.”
Forge Nano recently installed a new state-of-the-art battery manufacturing line and a cleanroom production facility for semiconductor ALD tool production, both located at its Colorado headquarters. Forge Nano expects the $40 million investment will be utilized for further domestic manufacturing expansion, as well as to bolster its workforce to support the company’s growing network of strategic partners and customers.
Original – Forge Nano
- U.S.-Made, High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries:
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Forge Nano, Inc. announced the completion of its new semiconductor cleanroom. The 2,000 sq ft cleanroom enables Forge Nano to manufacture multiple commercial TEPHRA™ ALD cluster tools to accommodate growing equipment demand from the semiconductor market.
Forge Nano announced the expansion of its semiconductor ALD business in 2024 with the launch of TEPHRA – its new 200mm wafer atomic layer deposition cluster tool. Forge Nano’s ability to coat single wafers at 10x the throughput of traditional ALD systems has significantly grown customer demand thus requiring an expansion of the Company’s manufacturing capacity and addition of a demonstration space.
“The Forge Nano TEPHRA can enable conformal metal barrier seed layers for through silicon (TSVs) and through glass vias (TGVs) at aspect ratios greater than 25:1 at production speeds,” said Matt Weimer, Director of R&D at Forge Nano. “We’re showcasing the capabilities of our atomic layer deposition solution for wafers, which we expect to position the company as a key enabler for advanced packaging and 3D chip integration.”
The new cleanroom provides a Class 10 (ISO 4) space for processing sensitive customer samples and includes a metrology lab for advanced thin-film measurement and particle inspection. The remainder of the cleanroom will house Forge Nano’s own internal TEPHRA tool and provide space to build multiple customer tools, serving as a dual operating space for demonstrations and manufacturing. In addition to increased manufacturing space, this expansion is poised to accelerate Forge Nano’s ability to provide proof-of-concept and commercial solution validation to manufacturers planning to integrate new ALD processes.
Powered by Forge Nano’s ALDx technology, which offers ultrathin, uniform, pinhole-free films with an unprecedented 10x throughput for single-wafer processing, TEPHRA is dedicated to the manufacturing of specialty semiconductor applications on 200mm wafers and below. With efficient chemical use, rapid cycle times, increased yield, and low-risk manufacturing, TEPHRA is the only single-wafer cluster tool with commercial throughput speeds serving 200mm applications in advanced packaging, power semiconductor, radio frequency devices (RFD), microLEDs, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and more.
Forge Nano expects to deliver TEPHRA tools in early 2025. Forge Nano is offering on-site TEPHRA demonstrations to new and existing customers starting in early 2025. For more details on how to participate in the upcoming demonstration, please visit: https://www.forgenano.com/semiconductors
For more information on Forge Nano’s TEPHRA product, visit the TEPHRA product page at: https://www.forgenano.com/products/tephra
Original – Forge Nano
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Forge Nano, Inc., a leading ALD equipment provider and materials science company, further expanded into the semiconductor market with the unveiling of its new Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) product offering – TEPHRA™ – Forge Nano’s new single-wafer, ALD cluster platform. By offering single-wafer ALD coating quality at throughputs similar to the speed of batch systems, Forge Nano’s TEPHRA ™ will allow customers to produce best-in-class coatings at commercial scale with unrivaled precursor efficiency and speed.
Powered by Forge Nano’s ALDx technology, which offers ultrathin, uniform, pinhole-free films with an unprecedented 10x throughput for single-wafer processing, TEPHRA is dedicated to the manufacturing of specialty semiconductor applications on 200mm wafers and below. With 100x efficient chemical use, rapid cycle times, increased yield, and low-risk manufacturing, TEPHRA is the only single-wafer cluster tool with commercial throughput speeds serving applications in advanced packaging, power semiconductor, radio frequency devices (RFD), microLEDs, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and more.
“TEPHRA is designed to unlock new capabilities to meet the growing demand of novel More-than-Moore market device applications that seek high-throughput ALD capabilities without sacrificing film qualities. Forge Nano will enable advanced device architectures with groundbreaking efficiency in the semiconductor space with our innovative ALD wafer tools that prioritize cost, performance and efficiency,” said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. “With TEPHRA, Forge Nano is opening new coating solutions and opportunities for our proprietary coating techniques that address high aspect ratio structures, which have previously been underserved in the semiconductor industry.”
Forge Nano’s ALDx technology enables conformal coatings to scale to aspect ratios greater than 10:1. With a flagship all-ALD Metal Barrier Seed film application, TEPHRA offers nitride and metal depositions in high aspect ratio structures for advanced 3D integration applications, including through silicon and through glass vias. By moving beyond 10:1 aspect ratios, manufacturers can scale their packaging processes and reduce power consumption by overcoming common pitfalls of directional deposition technologies, including PEALD, which struggle with conformality and void formation.
TEPHRA is available in a range of configurations with the option for four-sided, six-sided and eight-sided cluster platforms. TEPHRA can process wafers up to 200 mm between 80 and 300°C with six process precursor channels and dedicated chambers for oxide, nitride and metal depositions. TEPHRA ™ also features Forge Nano’s patented CRISP technology, a suite of catalyzed thermal ALD processes that enable low temperature and hard-to-deposit materials without the need for plasma.
For more information on Forge Nano’s TEPHRA ™ product, visit the TEPHRA product page at: https://www.forgenano.com/products/tephra. SEMICON West 2024 attendees can stop by the Forge Nano booth (#133), located in the south exhibition hall, for additional product information and to discuss capabilities with our product specialists.
Original – Forge Nano
