Semiconductor metrology startup Invisix has raised €20 million ($23m) in a seed funding round to support its soft x-ray technology.

The company, which is based in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, has been developing the technology inside ASML since 2015. In 2025 it was spun out into Invisix by Christina Porter and Sietse van der Post, ASML’s respective CEO and CTO.

The round was supported by Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., and a “tier-one” semiconductor manufacturer.

Invisix has developed a soft x-ray platform, designed to inspect the internal structures of chips without damaging the devices. Its metrology system is based on High Harmonic Generation (HHG) and powered by technology licensed from ASML.

According to Invisix, HHG uses a short-pulsed laser to place noble-gas atoms in a high-energy state, making them emit short-wavelength light, known as soft x-rays, to generate a richer 3D signal than typical single-wavelength lasers. By combining HHG with “proprietary reconstruction algorithms,” the company is able to produce detailed 3D images of internal structures without damaging the wafer.

The funding will be used to expand the Invisix team and accelerate the development of its first shippable system, the company said in a statement.

“Semiconductor manufacturers can’t build what they can’t see. As chips become more 3D, the industry needs a new generation of metrology tools that can look inside these incredibly complex miniature skyscrapers without destroying them,” said co-founder and CEO, Porter. “We are entering the market with technology that has been incubated inside ASML for more than a decade – a level of technical de-risking that is unusual for a seed-stage hardware company and gives our customers a faster path to deployment.”