Kepler Computing has emerged from stealth with a memory design intended to raise high-bandwidth memory and SRAM density without relying on expensive extreme-ultraviolet lithography. The startup says its 3D stacking process and proprietary ferroelectric composite can work with existing semiconductor plants.
Kepler has raised $468 million from investors including GlobalFoundries, Intel Capital, AMD Ventures and Bill Gates’ Gates Frontier fund. The US Commerce Department has also committed up to $245 million toward domestic development. Testing currently uses GlobalFoundries’ 28-nanometer production in Singapore and Vermont, and the company says it has processed about 2,000 wafers.
The technology remains short of volume manufacturing. Kepler plans initial high-bandwidth-memory samples later this year, a Singapore production ramp next year and US output in 2028. Iron in its new material can contaminate fabrication equipment, requiring dedicated or tightly isolated tools. The approach could reuse existing factories instead of waiting for new multibillion-dollar fabs, but its economics and yields still need proof across millions of devices.