X-ray lithography and a planned US foundry, aimed at ASML's EUV monopoly and TSMC's contract-manufacturing lead.
Substrate is a San Francisco-based semiconductor company founded in 2022 by British brothers James and Oliver Proud, developing an advanced X-ray lithography system that uses a compact particle accelerator instead of the light source in ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scanners. It has demonstrated features at 12nm critical dimensions with 13nm tip-to-tip spacing - high-NA EUV territory - and targets 2nm-class nodes and below. Unlike a pure equipment vendor, Substrate does not intend to sell tools to foundries: it plans a vertically integrated US fab network running its own machines, which puts it against TSMC as well as ASML. CEO James Proud, a Thiel Fellow and previously founder of Hello (Sense), has said the aim is mass production by 2028 and leading-edge wafer costs below $10,000 versus roughly $100,000 today, with ASML's most advanced scanners priced above $350 million. The company raised more than $100M in October 2025 at a valuation above $1B - Founders Fund leading, with General Catalyst (which seeded it around 2022), the CIA-backed In-Q-Tel, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Co. and Long Journey Ventures participating. It remains pre-revenue and its technical claims are contested; the physics of X-ray lithography at production throughput is unproven at scale. Do not confuse Substrate with Source Foundry, a separately funded stealth startup chasing the same ASML-challenger thesis with a different approach.
Semiconductors📍 San Francisco, CAFounded 2022
Current Valuation
$1.0B
as of 2025-Q4
UNICORN
QL Price
$1.0B
0% vs last round
QuantLogix's current estimate for Substrate, published 2026-10-07 — in line with the last disclosed round of $1.0B (2025-Q4).
Confidence
low
Basis
round anchored
What backs this price
Last disclosed round
$1.0B
2025-Q4
weight 0.59
How this price has held up
No round has priced for Substrate since QuantLogix began publishing a price for it, so there is nothing to grade yet. The claim above is on the record from 2026-10-07 and will be graded against the next priced round. See the full accuracy record →
Which publicly-traded funds already hold it, what $10,000 buys, and whether any route is open to you.
Cite this price as QuantLogix QL Price, Substrate, 2026-10-07 (b6d96fd2fa2cff59).
The id pins this exact claim, so a citation stays checkable after the price moves.
Model estimate for research — not a quote, target price, or investment advice.
IPO Outlookprivate
Is Substrate going public?
No. Substrate is private and has not filed to go public. There is no S-1 on file.
What is Substrate's valuation in 2026?
Substrate is valued at $1.0B as of 2025-Q4, set by its Series A ($100M, Oct 2025). That is the last confirmed mark, not a live price — private shares do not trade continuously.
Has Substrate filed an S-1?
No public S-1 is on file for Substrate.
Who are Substrate's investors?
Substrate's investors include Founders Fund, General Catalyst, In-Q-Tel, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Co., Long Journey Ventures.
How much has Substrate raised?
Substrate has raised $100M in total across 2 disclosed rounds, most recently a Series A of $100M in Oct 2025.
Is Substrate publicly traded — can you buy Substrate stock?
No. Substrate is a private company — its shares are not listed on any exchange and there is no ticker. The routes to exposure are pre-IPO secondary marketplaces and funds (accredited investors), employee tender offers when the company runs one, and public companies with read-through exposure. QuantLogix maps every route it can verify for Substrate on its Pre-IPO Access Desk.
Answers are derived from the roster record shown on this page — filing status, last round and confirmed marks. Where the record is silent, the answer says so rather than guessing.
Company Profile
CEO
James Proud
Founded
2022
HQ
San Francisco, CA
Total Raised
$100M
Growth
Pre-revenue, tool-development phase; targeting mass production by 2028 and leading-edge wafer cost below $10,000 (from an estimated $100,000) by the end of the decade
Last Round
Series A — $100M (Oct 2025) · Lead: Founders Fund
IPO Status
private
Fundraising Status
Series A · $100M · 1y ago
privateTotal raised $100M2 disclosed rounds
Series A Impact
Round Size
$100M
Primary financing announced
Post-Money Valuation
$1.0B
Company-announced mark
Round / Post-Money
10.0%
New capital ÷ post-money
Disclosed Funding
$100M
Cumulative disclosed rounds
Step-up compares disclosed post-money valuations. Round / post-money is a financing-size ratio, not an ownership or dilution estimate.
Funding History
Round
Amount
Date
Lead Investor
Post-Money
Series A
$100M
Oct 2025
Founders Fund
$1.0B
Seed
—
General Catalyst
—
Talent Signal
Hiring trend
▶ Hiring steady
0% vs 2026-08
Open roles
7
via ashby
Product-build share
100%
engineering, research, product, design
Trajectory
steady
heavy product build — 100% of open roles are product-building functions (engineering/research/product) — 3 of 7 open roles are engineering.
Actively hiring with no tracked executive churn.
Open roles by month
Open roles by function
■ product-building ■ go-to-market / G&A
Research Scientist, AIStandard Cell Design LeadElectromechanical EngineerMechanical EngineerTechnical Program ManagerProcess Engineer
Counted from Substrate's live job board as of 2026-09-16; role functions classified from posting titles. Open-role counts are an activity signal, not headcount. Refreshed monthly.
Founders & Key People
James ProudOliver Proud
Investors
Founders Fund · General Catalyst · In-Q-Tel · Valor Equity Partners · Allen & Co. · Long Journey Ventures
Products
Soft/advanced X-ray lithography tool driven by a compact particle accelerator (sub-EUV alternative)
Planned vertically integrated US foundry running its own lithography tools
Private-company numbers are not real-time. Reflects publicly disclosed valuations from press releases, news reports, and tender offers as of 2025-Q4. Refreshed quarterly.