CoolSem secures funding for wafer-level thermal innovation
Eindhoven-based CoolSem Technologies has closed of its pre-seed financing round to advance its wafer-level thermal management technology (WaLTIS) from concept to engineering samples.
The investment round is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from KBC Focus Fund NV, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), and TTT Green Tech B.V. (SHIFT Invest). Backed by this strong European syndicate of four renowned international investors, the pre-seed round ensures a solid runway.
CoolSem's WaLTIS multilayer stack replaces conventional substrates with an engineered stack designed to enhance heat flow, mechanical stability, and reliability, enabling higher performance and longer lifetime for next-generation devices.
Chips are now a critical resource, with rising pressure on raw materials and significant inefficiencies in heat management. CoolSem aims to make the semiconductor industry greener by reducing energy waste, extending hardware life, and enabling the reuse of rare materials, three critical levers for a low-carbon, circular economy.
“Heat is becoming a fundamental limiting factor in semiconductor performance,” said André van Geelen, CEO of CoolSem Technologies. “In RF, photonics, and power, conventional materials and packaging are approaching their physical limits. The pre-seed round enables us to demonstrate our wafer-level technology with early customers and advance towards industry adoption. With HTGF leading the investment and strong partners alongside, we can focus on the next phase of execution.”
Olaf Joeressen, senior investment manager at HTGF said: “When I first got in touch with CoolSem Technologies I was immediately intrigued by the simplicity and elegance of the approach driven by an outstanding team. I believe the technology has the potential to become an indispensable ingredient to the future thermal design of chips, an area that is more critical to the performance of semiconductor devices than ever before!”
Rudi Severijns, investment director, KBC Focus Fund said: “We were attracted to CoolSem Technologies’ proposition because of its pragmatic and highly compatible approach. The technology integrates seamlessly into existing semiconductor and photonics value chains, enabling rapid experimentation and adoption with minor redesigns at lower cost. Their solution is turning thermal management from a limiting constraint into a scalable design advantage.”
Ivana Sersic, senior investment manager at the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) said: “CoolSem Technologies is offering a solution to tackle thermal bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry that has the potential to unlock new and more powerful electronic chips having higher system performance, better energy efficiency and extended device lifespans. The team builds on the profound knowledge and expertise in semiconductor chip development concentrated between the regions of Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen.”
Pictured above from left to right: Kees Steenbergen – COO; Pieter Heersink – CCO; Andre van Geelen – CEO & CTO; and Robbert van der Waal - CSO
