Wooptix, a Spanish deep tech scale-up and a valued member of our Next-Gen Computing group, brings innovation to semiconductor metrology with its proprietary Wavefront Phase Imaging (WFPI) technology.
According to Laila Quiles Blanco, the company's Marketing Director, Wooptix is driven by a compelling mission: "To revolutionise inspection and quality control in semiconductor manufacturing and other industries by providing tools that offer unparalleled precision, speed, and non-contact capabilities."
“Our 'secret sauce' is that we can capture phase information in real-time with very high accuracy. We use this in the semiconductor industry to improve production and reduce energy consumption,” Laila explained.
Furthermore, Wooptix is extending the application of its WFPI technology into diverse sectors, including R&D. A notable example is the SEBI RT1000, a real-time phase sensor that delivers crucial data for R&D and advanced material analysis, demonstrating superior precision compared to traditional wavefront sensors.
Thanks to strong leadership and deep technical prowess, Wooptix has rapidly evolved from its origins as a La Laguna University spin-off into a significant global player within the semiconductor market.
At the helm of Wooptix is a robust leadership team, drawing on extensive expertise in optics, metrology, and hardware and software development. The company's visionary CEO and co-founder, José Manuel Rodríguez-Ramos, brings over two decades of experience in advanced optics to the table. Overseeing operations and business development is COO and co-founder Javier Elizalde.
Wooptix's technical and R&D division is a key strength, with 80% of its team holding PhDs. These experts in optics, software, and hardware have developed patented technologies for quality control in semiconductors and other fields like ophthalmology and material inspection.
Wooptix currently boasts a team of around 50 individuals and anticipates further growth, projecting its headcount to reach 80 soon. Operating from its hubs in Tenerife and Madrid, Wooptix also maintains a strategic business development presence in San Francisco.
Wooptix initially faced a significant challenge in validating its technology within the highly demanding semiconductor industry, a market largely dominated by traditional solutions. To address this, the company first partnered with industry leaders to conduct rigorous testing in real production environments.
Subsequently, Wooptix adapted its technology to precisely meet the specific and complex needs of semiconductor manufacturers. This strategic adaptation led to the development of innovative products, such as the SEBI RT1000, which offers crucial competitive advantages in terms of both precision and speed. As a result of these focused strategies, Wooptix is successfully increasing the adoption of its technology within the semiconductor industry.
The company received funding from the EIC with the specific goal of manufacturing its FabTool Phemet. This tool was designed to measure wafers with greater speed and accuracy compared to competitors based in the US. Furthermore, Wooptix forged strategic partnerships with major semiconductor companies, allowing for thorough testing of both its Labtool and FabTool. This collaboration resulted in industry approval and validation for both product lines.
In addition, Wooptix recently secured over €10 million in Series C funding led by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation.
Joining the EIC Scaling Club is another milestone for Wooptix. Through this membership, the company aims to accelerate its growth within the semiconductor market and expand into other industries. Another key objective for Wooptix is to foster connections with potential investors, customers, and strategic partners.
The company anticipates that participating in the EIC Scaling Club will facilitate several crucial outcomes, including increasing the production and sales of its flagship products, Phemet and SEBI RT1000. Ultimately, the company seeks to secure further funding to support its ongoing innovation initiatives and broader expansion plans. According to Laila Quiles Blanco:
“Wooptix is now in a key moment of growth, and the EIC Scaling Club is a great platform to help us go global.”
The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.
The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.
The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.
Subscribe to our newsletter here to stay up-to-date!