ASML backs €110M Dutch deeptech fund for quantum, semiconductors

The pride and joy of the Dutch tech ecosystem, ASML, has featured heavily in the news this past couple of weeks, after news broke the government was scrambling to keep the company in the country.

However, ASML’s plans to potentially relocate due to difficulty securing talent and infrastructure bottlenecks does not mean it is not still actively supporting the Dutch tech ecosystem.

The company has just contributed an undisclosed amount to Eindhoven-based DeepTechXL’s €110mn fund. The VC is  looking to invest in deeptech startups in the fields of quantum technologies, photonics, semiconductors, and other complex mechanical engineering.

“DeepTechXL is much more than an investment fund for ASML,” CEO Peter Wennink told the Financieele Dagblad on Thursday. “It is a wonderful example of a collaboration between various actors in the Dutch deep tech ecosystem, who have united behind a long-term vision.”

DeepTechXL was founded in 2022, and has since invested in eight companies. These include quantum computing cryogenic cable developers Delft Circuits, supercontinuum generation laser maker Superlight, and Gilbert Technologies, which is making electro hydro-dynamic atomisation pulmonary drug inhalers.

The fund’s aim is to select companies “at the forefront of technology,” DeepTechXL’s managing partner Teska van Vuren told the FD. She added that they are working on solutions for “major social themes,” such as healthcare, cybersecurity, and the energy transition.

In addition to ASML, DeepTechXL’s new fund is backed by PME, the Dutch pension fund for the metal and technology industry. Other investors include the Brabant Development Company, TNO, Invest-NL, Philips, the Technical University of Twente, and various Dutch families.