Netherlands startup PHOTON IP, a manufacturer of advanced low-power optical chips, has raised a €4.75 million Seed round.
PHOTON IP is accelerating the future of integrated photonics, by reducing the energy consumption and footprint of advanced optical chips for high-bandwidth optical communications and optical sensing applications.
The company is reinventing advanced photonic integration to combine silicon and multiple, optimised III-V materials for lasers, high-speed modulators and photodetectors onto a single photonic chip.
As optical communication networks, data centres for AI and cutting-edge sensing applications are critically dependent on optical chips, the core technologies available to efficiently integrate multiple materials on a single photonic chip are becoming a fundamental barrier.
Existing schemes for photonic integration can’t keep pace to deliver performance, energy efficiency and the small footprint required.
PHOTON IP’s tech reinvents the way silicon and different III-V materials, such as indium phosphide (which are essential for lasers and high-performance modulators) are integrated onto a single photonic chip. This radically simplifies the manufacturing process and opens a path towards mass deployment for advanced low-power optical engines for a wide range of applications.
According to Rui Santos, PHOTON IP co-founder and CEO:
“We’re not just advancing integrated photonics — we’re simplifying the manufacturing process for photonic circuits as well. We’re setting a new performance benchmark and eliminating the barriers to efficiently combine III-V materials with silicon.”
The round is led by Innovation Industries, with participation from Faber and Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), as well as support from PhotonDelta.
Vincent Kamphorst, investment director at Innovation Industries, shared:
“By effectively coupling diverse photonic platforms in a mass manufacturable process, the company aims to deliver high-performing photonic solutions at volume.”
With this financing, PHOTON IP will accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of its breakthrough technology that efficiently combines silicon photonics with active III-V materials.
Lead image: PHOTON IP: Photo: uncredited.
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