Keiron Printing Technologies raises EUR20.7 million Series A to scale LiFT solder-paste printing for electronics assembly

Eindhoven-based Keiron Printing Technologies has closed a EUR20.7 million Series A, co-led by Invest-NL, DeepTechXL, and Waves Capital, with Ramphastos Investments, ATUM Ventures, Cottonwood Technology Fund, and TNO Ventures also participating. The company commercializes Laser-Induced Forward Transfer, a digital, contactless method for depositing solder paste, through its HF2 platform. The technology originated at the TNO Holst Centre, a joint TNO and imec research effort. Keiron says the capital will fund production capacity and commercial expansion across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.

Stencil and jet-dispensing remain the standard for solder paste deposition in printed circuit board assembly, and Keiron cites stencil-related defects as a factor in over 70 percent of PCBA failures industry-wide. Removing the physical stencil step is the basis for its claimed first-pass yield jump from roughly 60 percent to above 95 percent. That yield gap matters most in high-mix, low-to-medium-volume production, where frequent stencil changeovers are the main cost and time drag, a profile that matches AI hardware boards and defense electronics as much as consumer PCBs. DeepTechXL's Hessel Mittelmeijer linked the round directly to rising board complexity in AI hardware and defense manufacturing rather than general electronics demand.

The next test for Keiron is qualification inside contract manufacturers' existing process-validation gates, since PCBA lines treat a new solder deposition method the same way AM lines treat a new process: proof comes from named production adopters, not lab yield numbers. The North America and APAC expansion plans point at the same AI hardware and defense supply chains driving the funding thesis, but HF2 unit shipments into live production floors, not additional capital, will be the marker to watch.