Bizmuth MBE Visit – Advancing AI Collaboration

10/13/2025 / Announcements

L-R: Huaide Zhang, Carsten Stemmler, Oliver Bierwagen, Eimear Bruen, Roman Engel-Herbert, Faebian Bastiman, Isabella Lorente, Lutz Geelhaar

Last month, we were delighted to welcome the co-founders of Bizmuth MBE Ltd., Faebian Bastiman and Isabella Lorente, to PDI. Over the course of two days, they toured the MBE Lab and held in-depth discussions with the team regarding the ongoing collaboration between PDI and Bizmuth to advance the automation of MBE growth using a custom-built AI system.

A recurring theme of the visit was a simple but profound question: “Why?” Why automate research? The conversations consistently circled back to the ideas of freedom, democratization, and progress — moving beyond outdated technologies and processes to embrace better, more future-ready approaches. One clear goal of the innovative project, suitably titled 'UnicornOne', is to liberate researchers from routine, repetitive tasks, enabling them to focus on deeper scientific questions. Another is to demystify advanced semiconductor research, making it more transparent and accessible to the next generation of tech-savvy young scientists.

Faebian is no stranger to PDI, having worked as a Research Associate and Software Development Lead here from 2013 to 2015. Faebian says of his return to his old stomping ground: “It’s fantastic to be back at PDI, where I first discovered the transformative potential of MBE. With UnicornOne, we’re not just adding automation — we’re changing the way research is done. Our vision is to free scientists from the grind of repetitive procedures and put the focus back on curiosity and discovery. We believe this approach will democratize access to world-class MBE capabilities and unlock breakthroughs that were previously out of reach.”

Stay tuned for more updates as the project progresses.