They Shrunk a Particle Accelerator 1,000× to Beat ASML — Inside Inversion Semiconductor’s Moonshot

🎙️ Inversion Semiconductor: The Startup Taking On ASML with a Tabletop Particle Accelerator

What if the next leap in chip manufacturing didn't come from a trillion-dollar company — but from two founders building a compact particle accelerator in Berkeley?

In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel Jarrosson sits down with Rohan Karthik and Daniel Vega, the founders of Inversion Semiconductor, a YC-backed deeptech startup building a radically new lithography machine. Their tech promises to manufacture the world’s most powerful chips — 15x faster than anything out there — and reshore advanced chipmaking to the U.S. for the first time in decades.

We get into:

How they shrunk a particle accelerator 1000×

Why ASML can’t (and won’t) build this

Fundraising for a moonshot in deeptech

The gap between U.S. and European startup ecosystems

Predictions on photonics, quantum computing, and the post-Moore’s Law era

Whether you’re a founder, investor, engineer, or just deeptech-curious — this episode is a wild ride through physics, ambition, and the future of chips.

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Meet the Founders: Rohan and Daniel

00:57 The Technology Behind Inversion

02:19 Why ASML Isn't Doing This

05:16 Backgrounds: From ARM to Particle Accelerators

08:44 The Inception of the Idea

12:52 Exploring Other Applications

15:54 Early Struggles and the Path to Validation

21:42 Why Build in the US?

24:49 Comparing Talent in Europe and the US

25:43 Challenges in European Investment

28:45 The YC Experience for Deep Tech Startups

35:02 Building Advanced Semiconductor Tools in the US

45:11 Future Predictions for Chip Technology

47:07 Conclusion and Farewell

🔗 LINKS

Inversion Semiconductor: https://inversionsemi.com

Follow Gabriel: https://twitter.com/gabjarrosson

#Semiconductors #DeepTech #YC #HardwareStartups #ASML #Chips #Photonics #QuantumComputing #MooresLaw #StartupPodcast