© Foto: Henrikki Mäkynen
Dr. Cedric Huyghebaert, CTO
Linda Wetzel
Henrikki Mäkynen
24.08.2023
In the world of semiconductors, professionals are often on the lookout for challenges that not only test their skills but also allow them to leave a lasting impact. At Black Semiconductor, we are following a mission for those who want to redefine technology and corporate standards. From individuals just starting their career to industry professionals seeking a fresh challenge, the common thread is the desire to make a meaningful difference.
A newly founded company environment, in most cases, offers a highly diverse work environment with many interesting topics and the potential to develop oneself professionally and in a unique way. Also, when thinking about applying for a leadership position, the opportunity to build teams from scratch who really fit the purpose and operate without the burden of legacy routines and ways of working is extremely compelling. This is a place where making an impact is not just a possibility—it’s an expectation.
For this article, we interviewed our CTO, Dr. Cedric Huyghebaert, who is driving the research and development at Black Semiconductor and brings over 20 years of experience from the nanoelectronics and digital technologies field. He joined the company in its seed funding stage and as an R&D professional having come from a large semiconductor research corporation, he is a perfect example of starting a new journey.
“I guess I can say I’m a technical person. For me, the essence is the journey and the way you look at things,” says Cedric, who is motivated by coaching young engineers and scientists at the company, guiding their ambitions. When asked about his passions in life, he refers to being interested in social mechanisms and society in general; why people behave the way they do, and why are they saying what they are saying.
“I’m interested in not just technology per se but also understanding how things work in society and how scientific theory gets adopted by the community. In the specific case of our technology, I’m very curious on how the industry will react to the change,” he continues.
Cedric has always liked working with Dr. Daniel Schall, our CEO and co-founder. They met during a European project in 2014 and started bumping into each other at several other conferences. There was always a mutual respect between the two scientists based on a shared profound scientific understanding. They started casually keeping in touch. Cedric recalls being at a bar and Daniel said that he had just started Black Semiconductor. “Suddenly he asked me if I could imagine joining his startup,” Cedric recalls. However, at that time there wasn’t much of a company yet. Then fast forward some two years when Daniel approached Cedric again and explained the company’s early strategy and plans and asked him again to join.
Black Semiconductor was over ten years in the making, and it finally got a great launch with some of the world’s greatest investors, such as Hermann Hauser (ARM) and many more deep-tech professionals. Things were looking great; the future of Black Semiconductor’s technology was promising and eventually, he had to make a decision. But the decision wasn’t hard to do. After all, he was looking for a change from his 22-year career with the same company. Cedric has seen a lot of operation, fabrication, and integration of materials in the 300mm wafer production environment. He has also been a lab manager while doing science, solving many challenges.
The 500-billion euro semiconductor industry is currently in an extraordinarily exciting stage as the downscaling of transistors is nearing the physical limits. At the same time, the computer industry is experiencing exponential growth in demand for information processing and data communication.processes and ultimately find the right people in the team.
“Our ambition at Black Semiconductor is really to make a major contribution to the semiconductor industry.Our technology is an enabler. It’s opening doors for completely new possibilities, materializing new opportunities,” he continues and highlights that this is also one of Black Semiconductor’s strengths when attracting other industry professionals. Also contributing to a meaningful cause and being able to witness the direct impact of one’s work can be a powerful motivator.
When deep-tech companies are still small and fresh out of research labs with reasonable funding for a few years even, they can rapidly do wonders in a small team that would otherwise take much longer time in a larger company to push through the internal processes and ultimately find the right people in the team.
We use graphene as enabler to create ultra-fast, energy-efficient, and scalable chip fabrics by connecting thousands of chips so they can interact as if they were one.
Black Semiconductor GmbH
Schloss-Rahe-Strasse 15
52072 Aachen
Germany
