Is the start-up Quantum Diamonds the next ASML?

München. The AI boom is bringing one record after another to the chip industry - and the start-up Quantum Diamonds wants to capitalise on this. The system manufacturer is now investing 152 million euros in its own production facility in Munich.

Quantum Diamonds has developed a process that allows increasingly complex semiconductors to be tested reliably, quickly and cost-effectively. The young company combines quantum technology with AI.

The Bavarians are emulating ASML, Europe's most valuable tech group. But they are significantly faster: it took the Dutch company decades to develop their globally unique chip production systems.

Quantum Diamonds is already much further ahead just three years after it was founded. The company is already earning a single-digit million amount this year from testing chips, says co-founder Kevin Berghoff. "Our optimistic plan has worked out." The reason: the start-up can draw on research results from the Technical University of Munich.

The process has won over the world's two most prestigious chip companies: Quantum Diamonds works closely with Nvidia and TSMC. With its graphics processors, known as GPUs, Nvidia has become the most valuable listed company in the world in recent years. However, Nvidia does not operate its own factories. The Californians outsource production to TSMC, the undisputed technology leader in the industry.

Europe no longer plays a major role among the chip manufacturers themselves. The top-selling producers come from America and Asia. When it comes to chip machines, however, Europe has unique expertise. Even if Quantum Diamonds is only half as successful as ASML, a group with a turnover of several billion euros could emerge.

Quantum Diamonds plans to deliver the first systems in February. They will be manufactured by a partner in the Netherlands. In future, however, the machines will be produced in the company's own clean room in Munich. Quantum Diamonds has rented 3000 square metres of space for this purpose. "This will be a German production facility," says founder Berghoff. Production is designed for up to 100 units per year.