Seattle startup Chiplytics today announced $4.5 million in funding to support the deployment of its microelectronics verification technology and the opening of an inspection facility in Bellport, N.Y.
The company provides authentication and quality screening of semiconductor chips and other critical electronic components. It focuses on detecting counterfeits, substitutions, inconsistencies and suspect parts before they’re assembled into machinery.
Chiplytics launched in 2022 during the COVID-driven chip shortage when manufacturers struggled to find parts and also ran into quality issues. The AI boom has created new bottlenecks in electronics.
“We’re seeing a lot of lead times now over 52 weeks for basic components,” said Stephen DiBartolomeo, president and co-founder of Chiplytics.
That leaves manufacturers with two options: wait for components from an authorized distributor or turn to independent brokers and distributors that may have the parts but are not authorized by the original manufacturer to sell them.
Chiplytics has developed technology that incorporates AI, automation and robotics to screen every electronics item for quality — rather than randomly selecting a few for testing.
“We just did an order for 50,000 parts. If you were to try and do that by hand or by sampling, it would take way too long,” DiBartolomeo said.
The company got its start through a U.S. Department of Energy program that connects entrepreneurs with technology developed in national labs to facilitate commercialization. The team worked alongside experts from Sandia National Laboratories to develop its verification platform and validated the solution with the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force before deploying it commercially.
The startup’s newly opened inspection lab sits within a 600,000-square-foot center operated by Quality King, a major U.S. distribution company. Chiplytics supports the company’s QK Special Services, which focuses on electronics.
DiBartolomeo and Chiplytics CEO and co-founder Steven Dourmashkin knew each other from high school on Long Island, N.Y. DiBartolomeo attended the U.S. Naval Academy and worked as a cryptologic warfare officer with the National Security Agency. Dourmashkin earned degrees in mechanical engineering and launched and sold a music tech company.
The two reconnected to start a business in hardware and national security. They brought on Chief Technology Officer Connor Dempsey, an expert in semiconductor physics whom Dourmashkin knew from Cornell University.
The startup has six full-time employees plus contractors. Its R&D operations are in Seattle.
The $4.5 million in funding includes $2.5 million in seed financing and a $2 million Air Force Tactical Funding Increase award. The round was led by Scout Ventures and Waypoint Ventures. Additional investors include QKSS, Industrious Ventures, Interwoven Ventures, Seattle Alliance of Angels, and Cornell University’s Red Bear Angels.