Onto Innovation stakes $720M on Rigaku to build X-ray chip tools
What's the deal? Onto InnovationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → closed its purchase of a 27% minority stake in Rigaku Holdings CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for roughly $720 million on August 10, buying the shares from Atom Investment, L.P., an affiliate of CarlyleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The move builds on a collaboration the two companies announced in April to develop X-ray-based tools for controlling chip manufacturing processes.
Why now? The investment lands four days after Onto reported a record second quarter on August 6. Chief executive Mike Plisinski said customers are wrestling with more complex 3D chip architectures and exotic materials, and that the deepened partnership should let Onto offer more complete process control tools as those chips reach high-volume production.
The record quarter: Onto posted second-quarter revenue of $343.1 million, up 35.3% from $253.6 million a year earlier and nearly 18% above the prior quarter. Advanced Nodes revenue grew 50% sequentially to a record, while backlog crossed $1 billion for the first time. The company guided to third-quarter revenue of $380 million to $400 million and expects demand to extend into 2027.
What could go wrong? Growth is coming with thinner margins. First-half net income fell to $93.9 million from $98.0 million a year earlier, even as revenue rose 22.1% to $635.1 million, and GAAP operating margin dropped to 15.3% from 18.3%. The RigakuDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → purchase adds risk: Onto is committing roughly $720 million for a stake it will not consolidate — booked under the fair value option method — and gets one board seat in return.
The signal: Onto is spending aggressively into a demand surge tied to 2.5D logic, high-bandwidth memory, and silicon photonics, betting that owning a slice of Rigaku secures the X-ray technology it needs as chips grow harder to make. The wager is sizeable for a minority position with limited operating control — but it reflects how tightly chip toolmakers are trying to lock in the technology and customers driving the current boom.
Image credit: IBM Research
