TEL Venture Capital, Inc.
Corporate VCFremont · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 24 people tracked
Investment thesis
TEL Venture Capital invests in innovative technologies that create synergies with Tokyo Electron's semiconductor and display equipment businesses, as well as adjacent fields and other silicon-processing technologies. It treats portfolio companies as partners, pursuing joint development and collaboration to realize win-win relationships. Beyond financial capital, it supports companies with technical and business development expertise, global business experience, and Tokyo Electron's technology resources and industry network. The firm is particularly interested in companies making ultra-compact sensors and real-time sensors for closed environments (measuring pressure, temperature, gas, flow, humidity, plasma characteristics) that could be integrated into cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and welcomes startups at any stage.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 24 people
from the firm's websiteWhat they invest in
from 22 of 47 portfolio companiesDeep Tech ×14Hardware ×14Semiconductors ×14AI & Machine Learning ×7Advanced Manufacturing ×6New Materials ×5Cleantech ×3Enterprise Software ×3
HQs:United States×11Japan×6Germany×2France×2Australia×1
Investments · 47 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12022 · 12 dated
Cambridge, US
Jimmy Williams Jr.(Director)Grant Tremelling(Executive Officer)David Ward(Executive Officer, Director)Joanna Aizenberg(Director)Curtis Maas(Director)Andrew Stevenson(Director)
North American holding company for electro-optics venture PML.
Black Semiconductor develops integrated photonics and electronics chip technology using graphene to enable energy-efficient, high-speed data communication for AI, robotics, autonomous driving, and high-performance computing applications.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechSemiconductorsAachen, DE
Dr. Daniel Schall(Co-founder & CEO)Sebastian Schall(Co-founder)
Cellid is a fabless company developing waveguide displays and spatial recognition (SLAM) engines for AR glasses and next-generation AR devices.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsRoppongi, JP
Ken Shirakami(Representative Director & CEO)Ken Shiragami(Representative Director & CEO)
ChemPower develops an abrasive-free chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) technology and materials for advanced semiconductor chip manufacturing.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechNew MaterialsSemiconductorsBeaverton, US
Sudhanshu Misra(CEO)SV Babu(CTO)SUDHANSHU MISRA(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardSCOTT SHAW(Director)inOWEN LOZMAN(Director)JESSICA FREYER(Director)in
Pioneer of high-efficiency solar cells using Direct Gas to Wafer technology to lower panel cost structure.
Developed MWh-scale redox flow battery systems for distributed energy storage (liquidated).
Enthought provides scientific computing services, enterprise scientific software development, and digital transformation for science, applying Python, AI/machine learning, and simulation to research and R&D problems.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise Software
Eric Jones(Founder, Chairman & CEO)
Cisco provides networking devices and infrastructure software for data centers, workplaces, and security operations.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSan Jose, US
Fortaegis is a security-focused technology company that builds foundational infrastructure for securing AI, quantum, and advanced computing systems.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDefense Tech
Develops advanced lithography modeling and pattern synthesis technology known as optical proximity correction (acquired).
Light Polymers develops a self-aligning lyotropic liquid crystal technology used to make direct-coatable polarizers, targeting applications such as flexible and foldable OLED displays and wafer-level sensor optics.
Deep TechHardwareNew Materials
Provides optimization technologies and products based on novel mathematical algorithms to improve complex manufacturing yields.
Global leader in silicon photonics, first to achieve direct 'fiber to the chip' integration on CMOS.
Carlsbad, US
Andy Rappaport(Director)Matthew P. Quilter(Executive Officer)Marty Colombatto(Director)Rohini Chakravarthy(Director)Alex Dickinson(Director)Forest Baskett(Director)
Albuquerque, US
Cem Candir(Executive Officer)Justin Sanchez(Executive Officer)Craig Beckman(Executive Officer, Director)Mike Reardon(Director)
BoardTom Blaisdell(Director)Trevor Loy(Director)
Market and technology leader in nanopatterning using Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography (J-FIL) technology (acquired).
Austin, US
Wilbert van den Hoek(Director)David Gino(Executive Officer, Director)Daniel I. Rubin(Director)Edward Grady(Director)
Focuses on proprietary passivation solutions to reduce defect density in thin-film materials for uLED, GaN and SiC devices.
Manufactures customized nanomaterials, coatings and films for energy, electronics and optics via high-throughput laser processes (acquired).
Nanosys develops Quantum Dot technology and materials, providing samples, R&D collaboration, and scaled production for partners building display and other advanced-material products.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardwareNew MaterialsSemiconductorsMilpitas, US
Jason Hartlove(Executive Officer, Director)Jian Chen(Executive Officer)Russell Kempt(Executive Officer)Noland Granberry(Executive Officer)
BoardKeith Crandell(Director)Steven Goldby(Director)
Woburn, US
Greg Schmergel(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDave Fachetti(Director)Bruce Sachs(Director)Jennifer Fonstad(Director)Margaret Seif(Director)OB Bilous(Director)
Osaka University-originated startup developing and selling SiC-based high-power switching modules.
Numat develops metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and manufactures them at industrial scale through an integrated campus with ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechDeep TechNew MaterialsIllinois, US
Ben Hernandez(Founder and Chief Executive Officer)Dr. Omar Farha(Founder and Chief Scientific Officer)
BoardT. Jay Collins(Director)Bill Kroll(Director)Luka Erceg(Director)Jeff Klunzinger(Director)
A service that recruits customers seeking orthodontic braces through social media and refers them to dental clinics.
B2B MarketplacesBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesTokyo, JP
Phosio develops UV-curable metal oxide precursors that enable low-temperature deposition for optical and electronic components used in smart glasses, semiconductors, and display technologies.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareNew MaterialsSemiconductorsCorvallis, US
Omid Sadeghi(Chief Executive Officer)
BoardBryn Pilney(Director)Andrew Greenville(Director)Joe O'Keeffe(Director)
Pivotal Systems develops flow monitoring and process control technology, including flow process monitoring and control solutions, for the global semiconductor manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareSemiconductors
Develops patented in-process nanoparticle analyzers measuring the size and concentration of nanometer-scale particles.
Preferred Networks vertically integrates computer science technologies from semiconductors and computing infrastructure to solutions and applications, developing AI/machine learning systems including the domestically-built large language model PLaMo and the MN-Core AI processor series.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareSemiconductorsTokyo, JP
西川徹(Co-founder)岡野原大輔(Co-founder)
PsiQuantum builds fault-tolerant quantum computers using photonic qubits and semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Deep TechHardwareQuantum ComputingSemiconductorsMoreton Bay, AU
Prof. Jeremy O'Brien(Co-founder & Executive Chairman)Prof. Terry Rudolph(Co-founder & Chief Architect)Dr. Pete Shadbolt(Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer)Prof. Mark Thompson(Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer)Victor Peng(Chief Executive Officer)
Develops anodization technology controlling silicon pore sizes ('porous silicon') for displays, semiconductors, biochips and DNA sequencing.
Leader in nanoporous/mesoporous materials using proprietary liquid-phase self-assembly for advanced siloxane-based materials.
Albuquerque, US
DOUGLAS GROSE(Co-Chairman)HASH PAKBAZ, PHD(President and CEO)LARRY MARSHALL(Director)JULIEN NGUYEN(Director)WILLIAM E. COOK(Secretary, Treasurer and Co-Chairman)
Leading company in synthesis and application of carbon nanotubes for advanced electronics, displays and solar (acquired).
Pioneer in nanowire applications for low-cost, accurate continuous biomedical monitoring devices.
NexFi Technology Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells high-voltage power equipment using next-generation SiC (silicon carbide) power devices.
CleantechDeep TechEnergyHardwareSemiconductorsOsaka, JP
Takashi Nakamura(代表取締役社長 (President & CEO))
Tsukuba Seiko develops electrostatic chuck technology using electrostatic fields, including fixed in-equipment chucks and its "Supporter" tool that addresses wafer warping and cracking during thin-wafer semiconductor manufacturing.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareSemiconductors
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesNumat Technologies · trysignalbase.com · May 27, 2025
Cellid · finsmes.com · Apr 16, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does TEL Venture Capital, Inc. invest at?
- TEL Venture Capital, Inc. invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What sectors does TEL Venture Capital, Inc. focus on?
- TEL Venture Capital, Inc. focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cleantech, Deep Tech, Energy, Hardware, IoT, New Materials, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Sector Agnostic, Semiconductors.
- Where is TEL Venture Capital, Inc. located?
- TEL Venture Capital, Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, US.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
from their channelTEL Corporate Guide 2026 [English Version]
TEL - Tokyo Electron Limited (東京エレクトロン)
TEL Corporate Guide 2026 [Japanese Version]
TEL - Tokyo Electron Limited (東京エレクトロン)
TEL台灣 璀璨威力之星出任務
TEL - Tokyo Electron Limited (東京エレクトロン)
【精華版】外商大解密!超正學長姊帶你開箱「亞洲半導體設備冠軍」- TEL東京威力科創
TEL - Tokyo Electron Limited (東京エレクトロン)
外商大解密!超正學長姊帶你開箱「亞洲半導體設備冠軍」- TEL東京威力科創
TEL - Tokyo Electron Limited (東京エレクトロン)
Images
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