内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/06/pat-gelsinger-wants-to-save-moores-law-with-a-little-help-from-the-feds/

内容总结：

前英特尔CEO基辛格投身初创企业 政府注资芯片新锐引行业争议

距离帕特·基辛格离开英特尔已有一年，这位半导体行业的资深战将并未放缓脚步。如今，作为风险投资公司Playground Global的普通合伙人，他将大量精力投入一家名为xLight的半导体初创企业。该公司近日宣布，已与美国商务部达成一项初步协议，可能获得高达1.5亿美元的政府资金，而政府也将成为其重要股东。

这笔交易为基辛格的职业生涯再添一笔。此前，因董事会对其转型计划缺乏信心，他在英特尔度过35年、两段职业生涯后于去年底离职。然而，xLight的交易也凸显了一个令硅谷感到不安的趋势：政府正通过入股方式介入具有战略重要性的科技公司。

“自由企业精神到底怎么了？”加州州长加文·纽瑟姆本周在一次公开活动中的发问，道出了整个行业对长期奉行的自由市场原则可能被侵蚀的普遍忧虑。

但作为xLight的执行董事长，基辛格在近期一场科技活动中似乎并未受这种理念之争的困扰。他更专注于一个赌注：xLight有望解决半导体产业最大的瓶颈——光刻技术。该公司正在开发基于粒子加速器的巨型“自由电子激光器”，旨在彻底改变芯片制造工艺。基辛格称，这项技术有望“唤醒摩尔定律”。

值得注意的是，此笔资金源于《芯片与科学法案》下的专项拨款，旨在扶持拥有前景技术的早期公司。目前协议仍处于意向书阶段，最终条款可能调整。当被问及资金是否会翻倍或最终无法落实时，基辛格坦言：“原则上已达成条款，但像所有合同一样，仍有工作待完成。”

xLight的技术路线在规模和雄心方面都非同寻常。其计划建造约足球场大小的设备，置于芯片制造厂外，产生波长精度达2纳米的极紫外光，远超当前光刻机巨头阿斯麦（ASML）使用的13.5纳米技术。公司联合创始人尼古拉斯·凯莱兹解释，核心创新在于将光源“公用事业化”，即像供电一样从外部向工厂分布式提供光，而非将其集成于每台机器内部。

公司目标是在2028年生产出首批硅片，并于2029年实现首个商业系统上线。凯莱兹强调，目前xLight并非与阿斯麦直接竞争，而是与其紧密合作，共同设计集成方案。

这笔政府投资也引发了“国家资本主义”的批评。但基辛格辩护称，这是提升国家竞争力的必要之举，并指出许多竞争对手国家正毫不犹豫地推行类似产业政策。据透露，商务部此次入股不附带否决权或董事会席位，是一项“出于国家利益、非控股式的少数股权投资”。

对基辛格而言，xLight显然不仅仅是一个投资组合。这是他重塑在半导体行业影响力的关键一役，即便其方式与硅谷的传统理念有所冲突。面对当前政治环境，他采取了技术官僚式的立场：企业领导者的职责是实现商业目标、服务投资者，而非卷入政治纷争。

当被问及同时参与十家初创公司的工作是否足够时，这位前英特尔掌舵人坚定地表示肯定，并笑称已将周末还给了妻子。不过，熟悉他“工作狂”名声的人或许会怀疑，这种状态能持续多久。

中文翻译：

被英特尔扫地出门一年后，帕特·基辛格依然凌晨四点起床，依然身处半导体战争的硝烟之中——只是换了个战场。如今作为风投公司Playground Global的普通合伙人，他正与10家初创公司合作。但有一家投资组合公司占据了他超乎寻常的注意力：半导体初创公司xLight。该公司上周一宣布已与美国商务部达成初步协议，最高可获得1.5亿美元资金，政府将成为其重要股东。

这对基辛格而言是项亮眼的成就。他在英特尔两度任职共35年，去年底因董事会对其转型计划缺乏信心而被迫离开。但xLight的这笔交易也凸显了一个让硅谷人士暗自不安的趋势：特朗普政府正在战略重要企业中持有股权。

"自由企业制度到底怎么了？"加州州长加文·纽瑟姆本周在一次演讲活动中发问，道出了在这个长期以自由市场原则为傲的行业中蔓延的不安。

在Playground Global举办的TechCrunch StrictlyVC活动上，身为xLight执行董事长的基辛格似乎对这场理念之争毫不在意。他更专注于自己的赌注——xLight能解决他眼中半导体行业最大的瓶颈：光刻技术，即在硅片上蚀刻微观图案的工艺。这家初创公司正在开发由粒子加速器驱动的巨型"自由电子激光器"，可能彻底改变芯片制造。前提是这项技术能实现规模化。

"我长期以来的使命就是持续见证摩尔定律在半导体行业延续，"基辛格提及这个已有数十年历史的定律（即计算能力每两年翻一番），"我们认为这项技术将唤醒摩尔定律。"

xLight的这笔交易是特朗普第二任期下《芯片与科学法案》的首个资助项目，动用了专门拨给拥有前景技术的早期企业的资金。值得注意的是，该交易目前仅处于意向书阶段，意味着尚未最终确定，细节仍可能变更。当被追问这笔资金最终是否会达到公布金额的两倍，抑或可能完全无法兑现时，基辛格坦率回应："我们已就条款达成原则性协议，但像所有这类合同一样，仍有后续工作待完成。"

xLight追求的技术无论在规模还是雄心方面都非同小可。该公司计划建造约100米×50米（接近足球场大小）的机器，置于半导体制造厂外部。这些自由电子激光器将产生波长精确至2纳米的极紫外光，远超当前完全主导EUV光刻市场的荷兰巨头阿斯麦所使用的13.5纳米波长。

"半导体行业约半数资本投入光刻领域，"基辛格解释道，"光刻机的核心是光源……这种持续创新以实现更短波长、更高功率光源的能力，正是推动先进半导体持续创新的关键。"

领导xLight的尼古拉斯·凯莱兹背景在半导体界非比寻常。创立xLight前，他曾在PsiQuantum（Playground Global投资组合公司）领导量子计算机研发，并在SLAC和劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室等机构从事大型X射线科学设施建设二十年，曾任直线加速器相干光源首席工程师。

为何阿斯麦十年前放弃类似方案后，如今这项技术却变得可行？"区别在于当时技术尚未成熟，"凯莱兹解释。彼时仅有少数极紫外光刻机存在，行业已在现有技术上投入数百亿美元，"那时并非彻底转向全新正交方案的时机。"

如今，随着EUV在尖端半导体制造中普及，现有光源技术逼近极限，时机显得更为成熟。凯莱兹指出，关键创新在于将光源视为公共设施而非集成于每台机器。"我们摒弃了将光源与工具集成的现有模式（阿斯麦当前做法），这种模式从根本上限制了设备的小型化和功率提升，"他表示，"我们将光源视同电力或暖通空调系统，在工厂外部建造公共设施级光源，再分配输送。"

公司目标在2028年生产首片硅晶圆，2029年实现首套商业系统上线。

自然存在诸多障碍，但目前直接与阿斯麦竞争似乎不在其中。"我们正与他们紧密合作，共同设计如何与阿斯麦扫描仪集成，"凯莱兹说，"我们同时也在与其供应商（如光学系统制造商蔡司）协作。"

当被问及英特尔或其他主要芯片制造商是否承诺购买xLight技术时，基辛格予以否认："尚未有任何承诺，但我们正与所有预期名单上的企业推进合作，并与他们进行密集磋商。"

与此同时，竞争态势正日趋激烈。十月，彼得·蒂尔支持的半导体制造初创公司Substrate宣布融资1亿美元开发美国芯片工厂，包括一项与xLight方案极为相似的EUV工具。但基辛格不视其为直接竞争："若Substrate成功，他们可能成为我们的客户。"他指出Substrate专注于构建全栈光刻扫描仪，最终仍需自由电子激光器——而这正是xLight研发的核心。

基辛格与特朗普政府的关系为故事增添了另一层维度。早在二月，他就向商务部长霍华德·拉特尼克推介xLight（当时Playground尚未投资该公司，拉特尼克也尚未获得任命），将其描述为有助于芯片制造回归美国的企业。

这种安排招致了一些批评，认为政府此举是国家资本主义的体现，由政府决定企业成败。但基辛格毫无歉意，视其为提升国家竞争力的必要举措。"我以结果衡量，"他表示，"这是否能推动我们重振产业政策所需的目标？许多竞争国没有这类争论，他们正推行实现竞争目标所需的政策。"

他以能源政策为例："美国当前在建核反应堆数量？零。中国当前在建数量？39座。数字AI经济中的能源政策等同于国家经济能力。"

对xLight而言，政府持股附带条件极少。凯莱兹（上图与基辛格合影者）表示商务部没有否决权或董事会席位。"没有信息获取权，什么都没有，"基辛格补充道，"这是非控股型少数股权投资，但也表明我们需要这家公司为国家利益取得成功。"

xLight已从Playground Global等投资者处融资4000万美元，计划明年一月启动新一轮融资。凯莱兹指出，与需要数十亿美元资金的核聚变或量子计算初创公司不同，xLight的发展路径更可控："这不是核聚变或量子计算，我们不需要数十亿美元。"

公司还与纽约州签署意向书，计划在奥尔巴尼附近的纽约CREATE园区建造首台机器，不过该协议也需最终确定。

对基辛格而言，xLight显然不只是一家普通的投资组合公司。这是他巩固在自己参与建设的半导体行业影响力的契机，即便其行事方式与硅谷传统理念相悖。

当被问及如何在当前政治环境中坚守原则时，基辛格回归到更技术官僚式的企业领导观——资金来自美国政府，政府任期有限，CEO必须超脱于纷争之上。"CEO和企业不应有党派立场，"他说，"你的职责是实现商业目标，服务投资者和股东。这是你的目标。因此你需要分辨哪些政策在共和党方面有利，哪些在民主党方面有益，并能在其间妥善应对。"

他另就特朗普政府的1.5亿美元资金表示："纳税人将获得良好回报。"

被问及同时参与十家初创公司的工作对曾执掌英特尔的人是否足够时，基辛格斩钉截铁："完全足够。我现在能影响如此广泛的技术领域——我本质上是个深度技术爱好者。在这里我的思维得到极大拓展，很感激Playground团队让我加入，使我既能让他们更睿智，又能成为风投界的新人。"

他停顿片刻，咧嘴笑道："而且我把周末还给了妻子。"

这想法固然美好，但任何了解基辛格工作狂名声的人或许都会怀疑：这样的安排能持续多久呢？

英文来源：

A year after being pushed out of Intel, Pat Gelsinger is still waking up at 4 a.m., still in the thick of the semiconductor wars — just on a different battlefield. Now a general partner at venture firm Playground Global, he’s working with 10 startups. But one portfolio company has captured an outsized share of his attention: xLight, a semiconductor startup that last Monday announced it has struck a preliminary deal for up to $150 million from the U.S. Commerce Department, with the government set to become a meaningful shareholder.
It’s a nice feather in the cap of Gelsinger, who spent 35 years across two stints at Intel before the board showed him the door late last year owing to a lack of confidence in his turnaround plans. But the xLight deal is also shining a spotlight on a trend that’s making people in Silicon Valley quietly uncomfortable: the Trump administration taking equity stakes in strategically important companies.
“What the hell happened to free enterprise?” California Governor Gavin Newsom asked at a speaking event this week, capturing the unease that’s rippling through an industry that has long prided itself on its free-market principles.
Speaking at one of TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC events at Playground Global, Gelsinger — who is xLight’s executive chairman — seemed unbothered by the philosophical debate. He’s more focused on his bet that xLight can solve what he sees as the semiconductor industry’s biggest bottleneck: lithography, the process of etching microscopic patterns onto silicon wafers. The startup is developing massive “free electron lasers” powered by particle accelerators that could revolutionize chip manufacturing. If the technology works at scale, that is.
“You know, I have this long-term mission to continue to see Moore’s law in the semiconductor industry,” Gelsinger said, referencing the decades-old principle that computing power should double every two years. “We think this is the technology that will wake up Moore’s law.”
The xLight deal is the first Chips and Science Act award under Trump’s second term, using funding earmarked for early-stage companies with promising technologies. Notably, the deal is currently at the letter of intent stage, meaning it’s not finalized and details could still change. When pressed on whether the funding could end up being double the announced amount — or potentially not materialize at all — Gelsinger was candid.
“We’ve agreed in principle on the terms, but like any of these contracts, there’s still work to get done,” he said.
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The technology xLight is pursuing is pretty serious in both scale and ambition. The company plans to build machines roughly 100 meters by 50 meters — about the size of a football field — that will sit outside semiconductor fabrication plants. These free electron lasers would generate extreme ultraviolet light at wavelengths as precise as 2 nanometers, far more powerful than the 13.5 nanometer wavelengths currently used by ASML, the Dutch giant that utterly dominates the EUV lithography market.
“About half of the capital goes into lithography,” Gelsinger explained of the entire semiconductor industry. “In the middle of a lithography machine is light. . . [and] this ability to keep innovating for shorter wavelength, higher power light is the essence of being able to continue to innovate for more advanced semiconductors.
Leading xLight is Nicholas Kelez, whose background is unusual for the semiconductor world. Before founding xLight, Kelez led quantum computer development efforts at PsiQuantum (a Playground Global portfolio company) and spent two decades building large-scale X-ray science facilities at national labs including SLAC and Lawrence Berkeley, where he was Chief Engineer for the Linac Coherent Light Source.
So why is this viable now when ASML abandoned a similar approach almost a decade ago? “The difference was the technology wasn’t as mature,” Kelez explained. Back then, only a handful of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines existed, and the industry had already sunk tens of billions into the incumbent technology. “It just wasn’t the time to take on something completely new and orthogonal.”
Now, with EUV ubiquitous in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing and existing light source technology hitting its limits, the timing looks better. The key innovation, according to Kelez, is treating light like a utility rather than building it into each machine. “We go away from building an integrated light source with the tool, which is what [ASML does] now and that fundamentally constrains you to make it smaller and less powerful,” he said. And instead, “We treat light the same way you treat electrical power or HVAC. We build outside the fab at utility scale and then distribute in.”
The company is aiming to produce its first silicon wafers by 2028 and have its first commercial system online by 2029.
There are, naturally, hurdles, though right now, competing with ASML directly does not appear to be one of them. “We’re working very closely with them to basically design how we integrate with an ASML scanner,” Kelez said. “So we’re working with both them, as well as their providers, [like] Zeiss, who does their optics.”
When asked whether Intel or other major chipmakers have committed to purchasing xLight’s technology, Gelsinger said they have not. “Nobody has committed yet, but the work is going on with everybody on the list that you would expect, and we’re having intense conversations with all of them.”
Meanwhile, the competitive landscape is heating up. In October, Substrate — a semiconductor manufacturing startup backed by Peter Thiel — announced it raised $100 million to develop U.S. chip fabs, including an EUV tool that sounds awfully similar to xLight’s approach. Gelsinger doesn’t see them as direct competition though. “If Substrate is successful, they could be a customer for us,” he said, offering that Substrate is focused on building a full-stack lithography scanner that would ultimately need a free electron laser, which is exactly what xLight is developing.
Gelsinger’s relationship with the Trump administration adds another layer to the story. He brought up xLight to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick back in February, before Playground funded the startup and before Lutnick was confirmed, pitching it as a company that could help bring chip manufacturing back to the U.S.
The arrangement has drawn criticism from some who view the administration’s approach as state capitalism, with the government picking winners and losers. But Gelsinger is unapologetic, framing it as necessary for national competitiveness. “I measure it by the results,” he said. “Does it drive the results that we want and that we need to reinvigorate our industrial policies? Many of our competitive countries don’t have such debates. They’re moving forward with the policies that are necessary to accomplish their competitive outcomes.”
He pointed to energy policy as another example. “How many nuclear reactors are being built in the US today? Zero. How many being built in China today? 39. Energy policy in a digital AI economy equals the economic capacity of the nation.”
For xLight, the government stake comes with minimal strings attached. The Commerce Department won’t have veto rights or a board seat, says Kelez (pictured above, with Gelsinger). “No information rights, nothing,” Gelsinger adds. “It’s a minority investment, in a non-governing way, but it also says we need this company to succeed for national interest.”
xLight has raised $40 million from investors including Playground Global and is planning another fundraising round in January. Unlike fusion or quantum computing startups that need billions, Kelez said xLight’s path is more manageable. “This is not fusion or quantum,” he said. “We don’t need billions.”
The company also signed a letter of intent with New York to build its first machine at the New York CREATE site near Albany, though that agreement also needs finalization.
For Gelsinger, xLight is clearly more than just another portfolio company. It’s a chance to cement his relevance in the semiconductor industry that he helped build, even if his methods put him at odds with Silicon Valley’s traditional ethos.
Asked about navigating his principles in the current political environment, Gelsinger retreated to a more technocratic view of corporate leadership — one where the money is from the U.S. government, administrations are temporary, and CEOs must remain above the fray.
“CEOs and companies should neither be Republican or Democrat,” he said. “Your job is to accomplish the business objective, serve your investors, serve your shareholders. That is your objective. And as a result, you need to be able to figure out what policies are beneficial on the R side or what policies are beneficial in the D side, and be able to navigate through them.”
He added separately of that $150 million from the Trump administration, “Taxpayers will do well.”
When asked if working across 10 startups is enough for someone who used to run Intel, Gelsinger was emphatic. “Absolutely. The idea that I can now influence across such a wide range of technologies — I’m a deep tech guy at the core of who I am. My mind is so stretched here, and I’m just grateful that the Playground team would have me to join them and let me make them smarter and be a rookie venture capitalist.”
He paused, then added with a grin: “And I gave my wife back her weekends.”
It’s a nice thought, though anyone who knows Gelsinger’s reputation as a workaholic might wonder how long that arrangement will last.