Corintis: The startup that solves a hot problem

26.01.2022 07:00, Isabelle Mitchell

A jury of experts and investors went through 90 applications and selected Corintis to participate in the Venture Leaders Mobile 2022 roadshow. In February, the semiconductor startup and the Swiss National Startup Team members will attend the Mobile World Congress 2022 in Barcelona. Before the 10 entrepreneurs meet with top-notch investors and industry leaders to strengthen their business network and advance their globalization, we want to introduce you to Corintis co-founder and CEO Remco van Erp.

Powerful computer chips produce about 10x more concentrated heat than an electric kettle. But heat and electronics do not go well together: High temperatures limit performance and reduce efficiency, so good cooling is essential. Current heat extraction methods cannot keep up with the increasing heat, and they are also wasteful—around 30% of electricity in a data center is used to keep chips cool. Lausanne-based Corintis resolves this issue. The startup’s semiconductor technologies extract heat using microscopically small liquid cooling channels within the chip. Corintis’ solution enables chip designers to adapt these channels to the layout of their device to obtain a 10x increase in heat extraction. This process resolves the fundamental heat limitations holding back the future of computing.

Name: Remco van Erp 
Location: Lausanne 
Nationality: Dutch 
Graduated from: EPFL with a PhD in 2022 (expected!)
Job title: Co-founder and CEO of Corintis
Number of employees: 4 
First touchpoint with Venturelab: In 2021, through Venture Kick 

Remco, can you summarize what Corintis does?
Cooling down electronics is a bottleneck for performance and has an enormous environmental impact. Corintis offers disruptive microfluidic cooling to support our digital infrastructure and sustainably enable next-generation computing. 
 
How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
I’ve been investigating the combination of microfluidics and semiconductors to tackle thermal issues in electronics throughout my PhD. After one of our papers was published in Nature, we received a large amount of inbound traction from the semiconductor industry. Discussions with these companies—and understanding their problems, needs, and roadmaps—have been the catalyst for our startup idea.   
 
What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Mobile roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision? 
Data centers form the backbone of our digital world, and they enable everything from cloud computing to our mobile infrastructure. The Mobile World Congress attracts an interesting mix of stakeholders involved with these data centers. We see Venture Leaders Mobile as a great opportunity to connect with industries ranging from IT and network operators to end-users.  
 
What is your favorite movie or TV show? 
I have lost count of how many people I’ve recommended Nathan for You to. Pure genius! And if you’re a founder in need of an unconventional business model, Nathan has your back.   
 
What is your favorite book?  
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner. A book about Bell Labs in the mid-1900s, where many technologies originated that have shaped our present-day world—from the transistor and solar panels to communication satellites. The book provides an interesting background about the story of the people and culture behind all of this.  
What is always in your fridge?  
Pickles! Not because I’m a big fan of them, but for some reason, they accumulate. 
 
How did you come up with the name of your startup?  
Our solution revolves around using extremely narrow and deep channels that are embedded inside silicon chips to extract heat efficiently. These features are so small that you can’t see them by eye. But if you observe these structures using a powerful microscope, they resemble the Corinth canal, a famously narrow and deep canal in Greece. Since we are effectively making the same kind of canals at the micro-scale inside a silicon chip, we came up with our name “Corintis.” 
 
Where and when are you most productive? 
My most productive location is in the office. “When” is mostly associated with my caffeine level, but typically in the afternoon. 
 
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder?  
Things move at a fast pace, and it’s often a rollercoaster, but sharing the excitement with the team and celebrating when little things come together step by step is by far the most rewarding aspect for me.   
 

For more information and updates on Corintis and the Venture Leaders Mobile, follow the Venture Leaders Mobile 2022 team with #VleadersMobile on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 
 
This year’s Venture Leaders Mobile program is supported by Huawei, Swisscom, and VISCHER.