TEL Venture Capital makes keynote presentation on sustainability at SEMICON West.

TEL Venture Capital (“TVC”) team had a strong presence during SEMICON West during the Startups for Sustainable Semiconductors (“S3”) session on July 13th. This program was launched by SEMI member companies in the summer of 2021 to seek out and partner with the world’s top startups to bring new sustainability technologies to semiconductor operations. The initiative covers three areas: energy efficiency, circularity, and emissions reduction.

As part of the opening remarks, Kay Enjoji, President of TVC, gave a keynote presentation about learnings from TEL Venture Capital’ experience with successful startups with technologies related to sustainability in Japan and globally. “This is an exciting time for startups to work on opportunities in semiconductor space especially as sustainable technology”, Kay remarked. “In addition to the rise of AI, IoT and 5/6G as growing market, there will be many opportunities to commercialize new technologies in green semiconductor production.” Link to Kay’s keynote presentation can be found below this article, available online for a limited time.

The S3 initiative attracted a large pool of companies that were vetted by the Startups for Semiconductor Sustainability organizing committee. During an online speed pitch event on June 6 and 8 they were narrowed down to 9 finalists revealed in a post on SEMI website on June 20, 2023. The finalists then presented their pitches during the S3 event on July 13, 2023 as part of the SEMICON West program. The pitch event gave potential investors a close look at some of the technologies of greatest interest to the semiconductor industry today.

Select representatives of the S3 organizing members then participated in a panel discussion about startups’ roles in sustainability for semiconductor industry. Brent Elliot joined the panel from TEL Venture Capital side. “The event was quite a success – standing room only – where a good selection of startups gained exposure to a room full of interested participants. The discussions in the room and post-event were a good demonstration of the clear interest and level of commitment to improvements in sustainability through the overall supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing” Brent commented.

About TEL Venture Capital: TEL Venture Capital, Inc. is a venture capital firm that is a subsidiary of Tokyo Electron Limited (“TEL”). It was established in 2006 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. The company invests in early-stage and late-stage ventures and has made forty-six investments in eleven countries so far. TEL Venture Capital, Inc. consider portfolio companies as partners, and focus on approaches that lead to win-win outcomes for both the startup and TEL.