Malaysian deep

Malaysian deep-tech startup nanoSkunkWorkX raises US$2m to tackle AI chip packaging bottleneck

nanoSkunkWorkX (nSWX), a Malaysian deep-tech startup developing performance-critical interfaces for advanced semiconductor packaging, green hydrogen and rapid diagnostics, has raised US$2 million (RM8.1 million) in a seed round led by regional frontier technology venture capital firm Tin Men Capital.

The startup develops thin-film interfaces designed to improve how energy, heat and electronic signals move across components in advanced devices and semiconductor packaging. Its lead product, nSD-I, is designed to reduce heat while carrying more current in AI chip packaging, potentially lowering AI inference, development and operating costs.

nSWX said it has built its core platform, developed three product lines, generated peer-reviewed semiconductor data and secured its first revenue with less than US$1.5 million in cumulative external pre-seed capital.

The latest funding will support semiconductor partner qualification, scaling of its interface-engineering process platform, hydrogen validation and diagnostics programmes across Asia, as well as strategic hires.

As AI chip packages become denser, their ability to carry higher currents and dissipate heat has become increasingly important to global computing infrastructure. nSD-I is designed to improve both without replacing copper or requiring changes to existing manufacturing processes.

According to the company, peer-reviewed research has shown that its graphene-copper films can move heat across their surface more than twice as effectively as a copper baseline. Follow-up tests also found that the material retained its performance advantage after use in pre-qualification test components.

nSWX said this could help reduce thermal throttling and cooling requirements while improving compute efficiency and lowering AI inference costs.

The company is also applying its technology in green hydrogen, where it is working to improve charge transfer and reduce reliance on platinum-group metals. In diagnostics, its work is advancing through joint R&D with the US Navy's NAMRU INDOPAC under a paid agreement focused on biosensors.

“The cost of building and operating AI infrastructure can be dramatically reduced through small efficiency gains at the process-step level, and for us, the opportunity lies in improving how the copper inside the packaging carries current, heat and signals,” said Iqbal Shamsul, co-founder and CEO of nanoSkunkWorkX.

“This round will allow us to prove to industry partners just how transformative that small step can be.”

Dr Amani Salim, a former NASA principal investigator, and Iqbal Shamsul, an MIT-trained computer scientist and former Morgan Stanley commodities vice-president, returned to Malaysia to build the company on the belief that the country's materials capabilities, manufacturing depth and growing support for deep technology could support frontier hardware development.

Malaysia handles around 13% of the world's semiconductor assembly, testing and packaging, while Khazanah Nasional's Dana Impak has made an initial RM1 billion (US$247 million) allocation for strategic investments, including AI and semiconductor technologies.

“At scale, performance breaks at the boundaries between materials. Heat, charge and signals concentrate where one material meets another, and that is where many critical losses in modern systems occur,” said Dr Amani Salim, co-founder and CTO of nanoSkunkWorkX.

“Our thesis is that improving a small, critical interface can unlock much larger system gains while preserving the materials, equipment and manufacturing base already around it.”

Jeremy Tan, co-founder and managing partner of Tin Men Capital, said the investment marked the firm's first backing of a Malaysian startup.

“We have been spending considerable time in Malaysia's tech ecosystem and are delighted to make our first investment in a startup like nanoSkunkWorkX,” he said.

“This is a rare team that understands the physics, has built with exceptional capital efficiency and engages customers at the senior technical level required to actually deploy. The backing assembled across Malaysia and Singapore shows what regional capital can do for frontier technology emerging from Southeast Asia.”

nSWX was recently selected for the inaugural SemiconStart Malaysia cohort, led by the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) in collaboration with Silicon Catalyst UK, to support package qualification and access to the global semiconductor industry. The company was also a finalist in the Baker Hughes Energy Ideas Generation Programme APAC in 2025.