<p>➀ Substrate, a Peter Thiel-backed startup, raised $100 million to compete with ASML in lithography tools using X-Ray technology; </p><p>➁ Its proprietary particle accelerator-based X-Ray lithography claims to produce wafers at a fraction of ASML's EUV cost, achieving 2nm resolution; </p><p>➂ The team includes experts from TSMC, Applied Materials, and U.S. National Labs, with validation from defense and intelligence-linked investors like In-Q-Tel.</p>