Nearfield Instruments Becomes a Dutch Deeptech Unicorn

Nearfield Instruments grew from a TNO spin-off into a private company valued at $1.6 billion, combining a record Dutch deeptech funding round with the opening of new production cleanrooms.

Nearfield Instruments took 10 years to grow from a TNO spin-off into a private company valued at $1.6 billion, approximately €1.4 billion. The Rotterdam semiconductor equipment maker reached unicorn status after closing a $380 million Series D round on 22 June 2026.

Two days later, the company celebrated its tenth anniversary and formally opened new production cleanrooms in Rotterdam. The occasion also gave co-founder and CEO Hamed Sadeghian a reason to keep an unusual promise involving a pair of orange sneakers.

Orange sneakers and a €1 billion promise

According to Sadeghian, Constantijn van Oranje gave him the sneakers almost five years earlier. They came with an informal agreement: Sadeghian would wear them when Nearfield’s valuation passed €1 billion.

That threshold was cleared with the latest investment round. Sadeghian wore the shoes at the anniversary celebration and cleanroom opening on 24 June. Constantijn, who officially opened the new facilities, attended in orange sneakers of his own.

The moment gave a visible marker to a story otherwise built around research, precision engineering and years of patient investment.

A record round for Dutch deeptech

Nearfield Instruments described the $380 million Series D as the largest deeptech funding round recorded in the Netherlands.

Fidelity Management & Research led the round, while the Qatar Investment Authority joined as another new investor. Temasek, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Innovation Industries, M&G Investments, Invest-NL, TNO Ventures and ING also participated.

TNO calculated the euro value at approximately €330 million, giving Nearfield a valuation of around €1.4 billion. Because Nearfield is privately held, this is the valuation established by the funding transaction rather than a stock-market capitalisation.

Invest-NL and the Deep Tech Fund committed €30 million to the round.

What Nearfield Instruments builds

Nearfield does not manufacture chips or lithography machines. It develops metrology and inspection systems that semiconductor manufacturers use to measure increasingly small and complex structures during production.

Its flagship QUADRA platform uses high-throughput scanning probe microscopy to produce detailed three-dimensional measurements without destroying the wafer being inspected. These measurements help manufacturers detect deviations, control production processes and improve chip yields.

The need for this equipment is growing as advanced chips move towards smaller features and more complex three-dimensional designs. Reliable process control becomes harder, and more valuable, when structures must be measured at nanometre scale.

From TNO research to international growth

Hamed Sadeghian and Roland van Vliet founded Nearfield Instruments in 2016 as a spin-off from Dutch research organisation TNO.

The latest financing follows a €135 million Series C round completed in July 2024. Nearfield says the new capital will fund further product development, increased production capacity, international application centres, customer support and joint research with major semiconductor manufacturers.

The company officially opened its new Rotterdam production cleanrooms during the anniversary event on 24 June.

The orange sneakers marked the moment a €1 billion promise was fulfilled. Nearfield’s harder task now begins: converting its valuation and technology into lasting manufacturing scale and a stronger position in the global semiconductor supply chain.