News: Microelectronics
24 April 2025
Northeast Microelectronics Coalition awards $1.43m to 19 firms through PROPEL Operations Program
The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub has announced $1,432,373 in awards to 19 startups and small businesses through its Powering Regional Opportunities for Prototyping Microelectronics (PROPEL) Operations Program, which helps companies to reach commercial readiness by reducing day-to-day costs that include software licensing, employee training, securing patents and cybersecurity services, hence accelerating the transition of technologies from laboratories to fabrication facilities and preparing for new commercial investments.
Established in 2023 as one of eight regional Microelectronics Commons Hubs working to expand the USA’s leadership in microelectronics and accelerate domestic semiconductor prototyping, the NEMC Hub is a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative comprising a network of over 250 member organizations including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), and startups concentrated in eight Northeast US states.
The NEMC Hub is building on the prior success of its PROPEL Manufacturing Program to strengthen the domestic microelectronics industry by further supporting private sector manufacturing, harnessing talent and advancing technology development across the region.
“Massachusetts has a strong innovation economy because of the work the NEMC Hub is doing to build a dynamic microelectronics ecosystem,” says Massachusetts Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba. “Lowering barriers of entry for companies will help accelerate innovation and expand operations across the region allowing the state to more effectively compete globally,” she adds.
The 19 awardees include the following compound semiconductor-related companies:
- $100,000 for Analog Photonics (Boston, MA), which provides photonic systems and designs, specializing in light detection & ranging (LiDAR), optical phased arrays, tunable lasers, coherent detection/combination, datacom transceivers, free-space optical communication (FSoC) and process design kit (PDK) development. Their design expertise spans passive and active O- and SCL-band integrated photonics, lasers, optical amplifiers, free-space optics, custom CMOS and PCBs, packaging, as well as electrical, thermal and free-space characterization.
- $80,198 for Astrabeam LLC (Tarrytown, NY), which provides millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz devices, components, modules and systems for wireless sensing. Their mission is to empower advanced wireless sensing solutions in complex environments, enabling safe and reliable autonomous operations for ground robots and drones.
- $100,000 for Finwave Semiconductor Inc. (Waltham, MA), which was founded in 2012 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers as Cambridge Electronics before rebranding in 2022 as Finwave. The firm is developing transistor designs and process technology for gallium nitride (GaN) FinFETs, enhancement-mode (E-mode) MISHEMTs and high-performance RF switches for 5G and 6G mobile infrastructure, smartphones, medical devices and cloud computing.
- $75,012 for Impact Nano LLC (Orange, MA, which develops and manufactures materials used in atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresist applications for the semiconductor, green energy and automotive industries.
“The PROPEL Program is an ambitious effort to help startups bridge the ‘valley of death’ by reducing the high cost of microelectronics product development,” says NEMC Hub director Mark Halfman. “This round of awardees demonstrates enormous potential to break new ground in several emerging markets.”
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