Black Semiconductor invests in its own chip factory

A first in Germany: A startup from Aachen, Black Semiconductor, is entering the semiconductor production sector. By establishing its own manufacturing facility, the company is taking a step that corporations in the semiconductor industry often avoid. Construction of the FabOne chip factory began in spring 2026 in Aachen’s Rothe Erde industrial park. This facility will handle the mass production of highly efficient semiconductors designed for faster data transmission in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Black Semiconductor was established within the RWTH Aachen University community in 2020. Its founders developed semiconductors that use graphene instead of silicon. This technology enables data transmission using light instead of electricity. This makes it ten times faster than today's standard components. Black Semiconductor’s chips could help process data more efficiently in data centers and support computationally intensive AI applications, among other things.

The first production facilities are scheduled for installation starting this fall, with test runs planned for late 2026. Thus, Black Semiconductor has the potential to play a pioneering role in the global production of graphene-based semiconductors.