Oregon State University spinout Inpria has agreed to a purchase by its existing shareholder JSR and will become a subsidiary of the petrochemical company.
Inpria, a US-based semiconductor manufacturing technology spinout of Oregon State University (OSU), agreed to an acquisition by petrochemical materials provider JSR for $514m on Friday.
JSR already owns a 21% stake in the company, having backed its series B and C rounds. Following the completion of the deal, expected by the end of October, Inpria will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSR.
Founded in 2007, Inpria has created metal oxide photoresists – light-sensitive materials – for a semiconductor production process called extreme ultraviolet lithography that simplifies the manufacturing of integrated circuits while reducing costs.
Andrew Grenville, chief executive of Inpria, said: “Our team is thrilled to become part of the JSR family.
“Together, we will combine Inpria’s metal oxide photoresist technology with JSR’s unmatched experience in quality, manufacturing, and customer focus to accelerate the full adoption of our platform in high volume semiconductor manufacturing.
“JSR’s global operations will also allow us to meet customer needs as we ramp our product introductions in critical markets.”
Inpria raised a $31m series C round in February 2020 led by JSR, with contributions from memory semiconductor supplier SK Hynix and TSMC Partners, the investment arm of chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Aliad, Applied Ventures, Intel Capital and Samsung Venture Investment, respective divisions of industrial gases supplier Air Liquide, semiconductor manufacturing technology provider Applied Materials, chipmaker Intel and electronics group Samsung, also took part in that round.
Samsung Ventures, an investment unit of Samsung, led a $23.5m series B round in 2017, with participation from JSR, Aliad, Applied Ventures and Intel Capital.
Air Liquide led a $10m series A round in 2016, with participation from Samsung Venture Investment, Intel Capital and photolithography technology manufacturer Tokyo Ohka Kogyo.
Samsung Ventures, Intel Capital and Applied Ventures had all supported a $7.3m round in 2014 together with Oregon Angel Fund. The spinout had pocketed $160,000 in equity and debt financing in 2010, according to a securities document.
