NextGO Epi, a Berlin-based deep tech startup spun off from Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ), producing Gallium Oxide epitaxial wafers for next-generation power electronics, has secured a €2 million pre-seed funding round.

The company has developed a process producing a semiconductor material that could reduce EV charging times from 60 to just 10 minutes, while reducing power semiconductor manufacturing costs by up to 75%.

NextGO Epi is the only European company producing Gallium Oxide epitaxial wafers at industrial quality up to 4 inches, a semiconductor material that forms the electrically active layer of the next generation of power semiconductor devices.

Gallium Oxide-based electrical devices can withstand higher voltages and are more efficient than the currently used Silicon Carbide or Gallium Nitride, says the company.

The pre-seed round was led by Vireo Ventures, with participation from Ultratech Capital Partners, IBB Ventures, and angel investor Boris Habets.

Just one week after the European Commission unveiled Chips Act 2.0,  the round marks the first institutional backing for Europe’s only producer of Gallium Oxide epiwafers.

The fresh capital will accelerate product development, grow the team, and strengthen the company’s commercial presence across Europe and global markets.

Gallium Oxide is a semiconductor material that comes with a major efficiency improvement over the currently used Silicon Carbide: it is 10x more power-efficient, handles up to 6x higher voltage density, and can be produced for up to 75% less.

NextGO-Epi´s three founder team, all PhDs (Dr. Ta-Shun Chou, Dr. Andreas Popp, and Dr. Andreas Fiedler), have spent over a decade developing defect-free industrial quality Gallium Oxide with strong support from IKZ.

“IKZ´s science & technology program is committed to develop and enable the supply of crystals for electronics & photonics with highest quality. In case of our start-up company NextGO Epi, I am very happy to state that the highest quality does not only refer to the Gallium oxide product but equally to the team of founders”, states IKZ Director Prof. Dr. Thomas Schroeder.

The company is already in production, generating revenue, and serving customers across three continents. The product involves growing epitaxial Gallium Oxide, often called the “epi layer,” onto a wafer substrate to form the electrically active part of a high-power semiconductor device. NextGO Epi is the only European company producing this layer in Gallium Oxide at the quality level industrial customers require.

The most immediate application is EV charging. An EV charging station containing devices built with NextGO Epi’s product could charge a vehicle fully in 10 minutes, down from today’s 60, and reliably in winter when lithium batteries typically perform worst. Beyond EVs, the same material improves the efficiency of renewable energy inverters, AI data centre power supplies, grid transformers, and defense systems.

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