AlixLabs closes €15m funding from Stephen Industries
AlixLabs, a Swedish pioneer in Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) technology for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, has closed its €15m Series A in the first quarter of 2026 following a strategic investment from Stephen Industries, a Finnish investment company with a strong track record in scaling advanced technology ventures.
In November 2025, AlixLabs announced that Global Brain and key institutional investors had subscribed to its Series A to the tune of €14.1m, with the difference to the 15 million total remaining open until the first quarter of 2026.
The investment marks a strategic milestone for AlixLabs as it continues to develop its proprietary ALE solutions with especially its flagship APS (Atomic Pitch Splitting) technology aimed at enabling more precise, efficient, and cost-effective semiconductor fabrication.
A key dimension of the partnership is the involvement of Kustaa Poutiainen of Stephen Industries, who has experience in building and scaling tech companies. Poutiainen previously played a central role in the growth of Picosun, a Nordic Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) company that became a leader in its field. Given the close technological relationship between ALD and ALE, this track record is particularly relevant to AlixLabs’ mission.
“Stephen Industries brings deep industrial expertise and a proven ability to scale companies in adjacent technology domains,” said Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs. “Kustaa’s experience with Picosun is especially valuable as we move from development toward broader commercialisation of our APS™ platform.”
Atomic Layer Etching is widely seen as a critical enabler for future semiconductor nodes, complementing ALD processes by allowing atomic-scale precision in material removal. As device architectures become increasingly complex, ALE is expected to play a central role in manufacturing.
“AlixLabs operates in a highly promising space within semiconductor process technology,” said Kustaa Poutiainen, chairman and president of Stephen Industries. “Having seen firsthand how ALD evolved from a niche innovation to a critical industry standard, I see strong parallels with ALE. AlixLabs has the potential to follow a similar trajectory.”
The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand technical capabilities, and strengthen partnerships with semiconductor manufacturers.
