The last time I attended a SEMICON in October was in Austin in 1999. It was one of the last SEMICON Southwest shows. Fast forward to 2025, and in a few weeks, SEMICON West will be held in Phoenix, celebrating in part the new explosion of the semiconductor manufacturing industry in Arizona and the Southwest. Looking at the agenda, it will be a fast-paced few days. It will be interesting to see how the show transitions to Phoenix and what changes there will be in attendance, as well as what the show floor and off-site meetings look like.
Over the past several years, SEMI has sharpened its focus on sustainability. This was in part jump-started by the S3 activity, Startups for Sustainable Semiconductors.
While the Semiconductor industry has focused on sustainability for several years, the progress or success is limited to a few companies. Intel and ST Microelectronics have worked to make sustainable improvements for over a decade. They have made good progress on water conservation, waste reduction, and getting to net zero. Intel requested that its vendors also embark on sustainability programs to assist the company in reaching its net-zero goals.
The industry is making good progress, but challenges remain, such as how to grow high-quality films using less energy, how to reduce the energy needed to pattern wafers, how to reduce and destroy PFAs, and how to reduce and recycle the amount of water needed in the production of wafers. Lastly, a key challenge is how to make integrated circuits more energy efficient, to reduce the levels of power that are needed by data centers. While there might be solutions out there, they need to be tailored to meet the unique demands of the semiconductor industry.
Therefore, several years ago, the venture arms ofApplied Materials, Micron, Intel, Lam Research, and a few other companies banded together to find sustainable solutions for the semiconductor industry, and along with SEMI, created the S3 event. It has grown every year, and the number of industry supporters keeps increasing, as does the number of participants in the call for ideas.
This year, more than 140 applicants applied for the event, focusing on the areas of sustainable data centers, sustainable semiconductor design, and semiconductor manufacturing. The applicants go through a vetting process. As the applicant list is narrowed down to a manageable number, the applicants then get to meet with an advisor who helps them get a better understanding of how the semiconductor industry operates and assists them in targeting their product to meet the industry’s needs. The process culminates with six companies making their pitches at SEMICON West. This year’s event is from 1-5 PM on Wednesday.
Some past ideas that have gotten off the ground may now be in use in a fab or at a semiconductor materials or equipment maker are chemical recovery and recycling. These include a new method of creating reverse osmosis filters to save water and energy, PFA capture and destruction, and a different type of motor to save energy.
“The startups focus on promising solutions for some of our greatest challenges in manufacturing, power, and energy savings in chips, processes, and data centers, and materials to lower our emissions or waste impact”, says John Wei of the S3 selection committee.
This year, the number of semifinalists was expanded to 35. They gave their pitches virtually on July 31 and August 1. Applicants are from around the world, and there is a nice diversity of technology focused on making the semiconductor industry more sustainable, from AI to atomic layer deposition technology. The semifinalists are listed below with a few-word summary of their technology.
2025 S3 Semifinalists:
- 3D Architech, Inc. Boston, MA, USA; cooling technology
- Actasys Inc., Brooklyn, NY, USA; cooling technology
- AlixLabs AB Lund, Sweden; atomic layer pitch-splitting
- Allonnia Boston, MA, USA; PFA remediation
- Alloy Enterprises, Burlington, VT, USA; cooling solutions
- Alsemy Seoul, South Korea; AI for chip manufacturing
- Arieca Inc, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; thermal performance
- Atomos 3D West Lafayette, IN, USA; low temperature transistor technology
- Coflux Purification, Inc., Houston, TX, USA; PFA capture and destruction
- CoolSem Technologies, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; Thermal management.
- CuspAI Cambridge, UK; AIfor sustainable materials
- Flexiramics Enshede, The Netherlands; ceramic fiber for PCB
- Fluorityx Watertown, MA, USA; PFA sensor
- Forever Analytical South Bend, IN, USA; F sensor
- Gallox Semiconductors Inc., Ithaca, NY, USA; Gallium Oxide technology
- IC Recovery, a Division of Greene Lyon Group, Inc., Beverly, MA, USA; chip recycling
- icspi Kitchener, ON, Canada; Atomic Force Microscopy
- Kelvin Cooling Inc., Berkeley, CA, USA; cooling technology
- Linque Munich, Germany; integrated photonic switch
- Makr Microsystems Bangalore, India; Atomic Force Microscopy
- Matnex London, UK; AI for sustainable materials
- Mixx Technologies, Inc. San Jose, CA, USA; optical interconnects
- Nano Performance Technologies Ltd. Coquitlam, BC, Canada; nano-materials
- NextGO Epi Berlin, Germany; GaO epitaxy
- Nextoar Bangalore, India; AI for training
- PhysicsX New York, NY, USA; AI simulation
- Point2 Technology San Jose, CA, USA; Terabyte data transmission
- PROUD Lausanne, Switzerland; Heat dissipation
- Scrona AG, Zurich, Austria; Inkjet technology
- SKYRE, Inc., East Hartford, MA, USA; On-site hydrogen purification
- Syenta Sydney, Australia; Electrochemical modeling
- Terecircuits Corporation, Mountain View, CA, USA; Material modeling for heterogeneous integration
- Vertical Horizons, Cambridge, MA, USA; GaN power transistors.
- Vionano Innovations Inc, Paul, MN, USA; Self-assembly patterning platform
- XLYNX Materials Victoria, BC, Canada; polymer cross-linking
From the 35 semifinalists, 6 finalists were selected: Actasys, AlixLabs, Allonnia, Alsemy, Arieca Inc. CuspAI
These companies will be making their pitches at Semicon West in Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon. The presentations are fast-paced, educational, and entertaining. I hope to see you there.
Find more info about SEMI S3 here.
