Nearfield Instruments, a Dutch semiconductor metrology equipment maker, has closed a $380 million Series D** at a **$1.6 billion post‑money valuation – the largest deep‑tech single round in Dutch history.

The oversubscribed round was led exclusively by Fidelity, with participation from Temasek, QIA, and ING Group. Fidelity and QIA are new investors; Temasek, Invest‑NL, and TNO‑backed funds all followed on.

Funds will be used to scale production, build global R&D centers, and expand customer support, alongside co‑development with leading foundries.

Nearfield’s flagship product is high‑throughput 3D AFM (atomic force microscopy) for wafer metrology – critical for GAA, HBM, and 3D NAND. Its patented multi‑probe parallel AFM offers the industry’s only commercially proven high‑throughput solution, already deployed at Samsung with repeat orders.

With 3D integration becoming standard, advanced metrology is a bottleneck for AI chip yield. Nearfield’s funding marks a shift in the €20B metrology market long dominated by KLA, Applied Materials, and Hitachi.

ICgoodFind: Nearfield’s 3D AFM is the unsung hero of 3D chip production – and investors are betting it will break the metrology oligopoly.