Chip company ASML buys lithography co., Brion for $270M

Dutch chip company ASML Holding NV said it will buy Santa Clara’s Brion Technologies, a semiconductor design and wafer manufacturing company for $270 million, resulting in what appears to be a solid return for Brion’s multiple venture investors.

Brion’s computational lithography technology lets chip manufacturers “simulate the realized pattern of integrated circuits and to correct the mask pattern to optimize the manufacturing process and yield.”

Founded in 2002, Brion raised close to $30 million from a group of investors, led by U.S. Venture Partners. JAFCO Ventures, JP Morgan, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Stanford University and WK Technology Fund also invested.

The is the latest in a string of sales by U.S. Venture Partners of its portfolio companies.

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