xLight

xLight is a Palo Alto-based deep-technology company developing the world's most powerful lasers for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Founded in 2021 by Nicholas Kelez, who helped architect SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source, xLight targets a critical bottleneck in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography: today's laser-produced plasma (LPP) light sources provide only 25% of the power current lithography systems require and are physically incapable of meeting the demands of next-generation tools. xLight's solution is a particle accelerator-driven free electron laser (FEL) that generates EUV light at 13.5nm with 4x more power than existing LPP sources, enabling a 50% reduction in per-wafer costs and supporting up to 20 ASML EUV scanners from a single installation. The FEL facility is housed in a standalone building adjacent to the semiconductor fab, with EUV light transported via a photon pipeline to the scanner floor. The company is building a feature-complete prototype targeting first wafer prints by 2028 and has secured partnerships with Cornell, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. xLight has received $150 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act. Executive chairman Pat Gelsinger, former Intel CEO, joined via his role as general partner at lead investor Playground Global.