Early Detection and Prevention of Chip Defects

A Singapore-based deep tech startup, SixSense, has made significant strides in revolutionizing semiconductor manufacturing with its AI-powered platform. The company has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to around $12 million, and has already seen its platform used by major semiconductor manufacturers such as GlobalFoundries and JCET, with over 100 million chips processed to date.

Founded in 2018 by engineers Akanksha Jagwani and Avni Agarwal, SixSense aims to address a fundamental challenge in semiconductor manufacturing: converting raw production data into real-time insights that help factories prevent quality issues and improve yield. The platform provides engineers with early warnings to address potential issues before they escalate, with capabilities such as defect detection, root cause analysis, and failure prediction.

The platform is specifically designed to be used by process engineers rather than data scientists, allowing them to fine-tune models using their own fab data and deploy them in under two days without writing a single line of code. This makes the platform both powerful and practical for the semiconductor industry.

SixSense’s AI platform is already showing promising results, with customers reporting up to 30% faster production cycles, a 1-2% boost in yield, and a 90% reduction in manual inspection work. The system is compatible with inspection equipment that covers over 60% of the global market, and the company is now expanding into the U.S. as the geopolitical tensions drive new manufacturing investments across the globe.

“We’re already working with fabs in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Israel, and are now expanding into the U.S.,” Agarwal said. “We’re seeing fabs and OSATs expand aggressively in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, and the U.S. — and that’s a tailwind for us. Why? Because we’re already based in the region, and many of these new facilities are starting fresh — without legacy systems weighing them down.”

SixSense’s platform is poised to revolutionize the semiconductor industry, and its early adoption by major manufacturers suggests that it is well on its way to achieving its goal of preventing quality issues and improving yield in real-time.

The Need for AI in Semiconductor Manufacturing

The semiconductor industry has traditionally relied on manual inspection and quality control methods, which are time-consuming, subjective, and don’t scale well with increasing process complexity. The industry’s reputation for precision belies the fact that inspection processes remain largely fragmented and lack real-time intelligence.

Akanksha Jagwani, SixSense’s CTO, brings a deep understanding of manufacturing, quality control, and software automation through her experience building automation solutions for manufacturers like Hyundai Motors and GE. Agarwal, the CEO, adds technical experience from her time at Visa, where she built large-scale data analytics systems, some of which were later protected as trade secrets.

The Competitive Landscape

SixSense’s AI platform competes with in-house engineering teams using tools like Cognex and Halcon, inspection equipment makers integrating AI into their systems, and startups including Landing.ai and Robovision. However, SixSense’s platform is specifically designed to be user-friendly for process engineers, making it a more accessible solution for the semiconductor industry.

Future Plans and Expansion

SixSense plans to expand its platform to more semiconductor manufacturers in the U.S. and Asia, as well as explore new applications for its AI technology. The company is also working to integrate its platform with other industry-specific tools and equipment, further enhancing its value proposition for customers.

As the global demand for semiconductors continues to grow, SixSense’s AI-powered platform is well-positioned to play a key role in revolutionizing the industry and driving innovation in semiconductor manufacturing.