They Shrunk a Particle Accelerator 1,000× to Beat ASML — Inside Inversion Semiconductor’s Moonshot

🎙️ Inversion Semiconductor: The Startup Taking On ASML with a Tabletop Particle Accelerator What if the next leap in chip manufacturing didn't come from a trillion-dollar company — but from two founders building a compact particle accelerator in Berkeley? In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel Jarrosson sits down with Rohan Karthik and Daniel Vega, the founders of Inversion Semiconductor, a YC-backed deeptech startup building a radically new lithography machine. Their tech promises to manufacture the world’s most powerful chips — 15x faster than anything out there — and reshore advanced chipmaking to the U.S. for the first time in decades. We get into: How they shrunk a particle accelerator 1000× Why ASML can’t (and won’t) build this Fundraising for a moonshot in deeptech The gap between U.S. and European startup ecosystems Predictions on photonics, quantum computing, and the post-Moore’s Law era Whether you’re a founder, investor, engineer, or just deeptech-curious — this episode is a wild ride through physics, ambition, and the future of chips. 📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Meet the Founders: Rohan and Daniel 00:57 The Technology Behind Inversion 02:19 Why ASML Isn't Doing This 05:16 Backgrounds: From ARM to Particle Accelerators 08:44 The Inception of the Idea 12:52 Exploring Other Applications 15:54 Early Struggles and the Path to Validation 21:42 Why Build in the US? 24:49 Comparing Talent in Europe and the US 25:43 Challenges in European Investment 28:45 The YC Experience for Deep Tech Startups 35:02 Building Advanced Semiconductor Tools in the US 45:11 Future Predictions for Chip Technology 47:07 Conclusion and Farewell 🔗 LINKS Inversion Semiconductor: https://inversionsemi.com Follow Gabriel: https://twitter.com/gabjarrosson #Semiconductors #DeepTech #YC #HardwareStartups #ASML #Chips #Photonics #QuantumComputing #MooresLaw #StartupPodcast