Dutch pension fund ABP has made a co-investment in Rotterdam-based semiconductor technology company Nearfield Instruments.

The investment was made alongside Dutch venture capital fund Innovation Industries and forms part of a wider USD 380m (€330m) financing round. As an investor in Innovation Industries, a leading Dutch deep-tech venture capital fund, ABP has access to co-investment opportunities like this one.

ABP said the investment aligns with its private markets strategy, offering the potential for attractive returns while supporting the growth of innovative Dutch and European companies.

By investing more capital in growing businesses, ABP aims to strengthen Europe's economy, reduce dependence on other regions, and stimulate innovation, which it said would benefit both its members and Europe as a whole.

The pension fund said the capital will support the company's growth as it seeks to meet rising demand for its advanced chip testing machines.

Following the funding round, Nearfield Instruments has been valued at USD 1.6bn (€1.4bn), making it one of the Netherlands’ so-called unicorn companies – privately held businesses valued at more than USD 1bn.

The company was founded a decade ago as a spin-off from Dutch research organisation TNO and specialises in advanced metrology technology and semiconductor chip testing.

Its technology enables semiconductor manufacturers to identify defects during the production process, helping address growing quality-control challenges as chips become smaller and increasingly complex, as well as meeting increased demand due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

The company’s machines use proprietary atomic force microscopy to create three-dimensional images of chips at picometre resolution, enabling more precise measurements than conventional techniques.

ABP explained that this is significant because a modern semiconductor can contain as many as 100 billion transistors.

“By detecting defects more accurately, new generations of chips can be brought to market more quickly while reducing production losses and improving the efficient use of critical raw materials and resources,” ABP stated.

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