PhotonPath, a European pioneer in integrated photonics, has raised €5.1 million Series A funding to accelerate the scale-up of manufacturing for its proprietary silicon photonics chipsets and plug-and-play modules.
I spoke to co-founder Douglas Aguiar, Ph.D., CEO and President of PhotonPath, to learn more.
Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Politecnico di Milano and nurtured within PoliHub, the deep-tech hub of the Politecnico di Milano,
Aguiar has been living in Italy for the past ten years, founding PhotonPath after completing his PhD and postdoc. Before moving to Europe, he worked in Brazil at a major telecom equipment manufacturer. He met his co-founder in Milan, where they collaborated on several European research projects, which laid the groundwork for what would eventually become PhotonPath.
He explained:
“My research focused on integrated photonics and ultra-low-noise electronics—essentially, the building blocks of the photonic circuits we now commercialise.”
My PhD was in integrated photonics, and more specifically, in ultra-low-noise electronics to operate and control photonic circuits. It was a natural match—combining electronics and photonics into a unified product.
In 2019, we completed our postdocs and decided to found PhotonPath after receiving initial seed investment from 360 Capital, a Italo-French VC.”
PhotonPath is unlocking the power of light through scalable integrated photonics. Its portfolio includes proprietary chipsets, plug-and-play modules, and complete sensing systems for telecommunications and real-time infrastructure monitoring.
The PhotonPath vision: light-speed innovation
PhotonPath designs and manufactures proprietary integrated photonics chipsets and plug-and-play modules that break through traditional electronics limitations. Its patented technology enables ultra-compact, energy-efficient solutions for real-time optical data acquisition, transmission, and sensing, tailored for high-demand environments such as hyperscale data centres, telecom networks, aerospace systems and critical infrastructure monitoring.
PhotonPath brings integrated photonics and optical communication networks—but not in the usual way.
According to Aguiar most people focus on the high-speed part.
“Our approach is to target the more complex parts of the optical layer — areas where it’s difficult to solve problems using electronics alone.
Our products are integrated solutions designed to address these challenges. Instead of building systems from discrete optical components, like mirrors and lenses, we’ve condensed the functionality into a programmable photonic circuit.”
The company’s flagship product is the NanoOCM Spectrum Analyser, the world’s smallest high-resolution optical spectrum analyzer. It leverages patented silicon photonics circuits and advanced control algorithms to provide FlexGrid support, ultra-fast scan times, and power consumption below 1 watt, making it ideal for next-generation optical modules and software-defined networks.
Cross-sector innovation in a fragmented space
Aguiar admits that the sensing space is highly fragmented and characterised by mostly single-purpose solutions; however, while telecom was PhotonPath’s starting point, the core technology has broad applicability.
The company is building a reconfigurable optical platform called Spectre — offering an integrated photonics-based fiber optic sensing system capable of precise temperature and strain monitoring in harsh conditions, from high-voltage substations to automotive safety applications. Its modular, plug-and-play design enables rapid deployment across diverse industrial sectors such as energy, transportation, aerospace, and industrial automation.
One of the company’s investors is an automotive company that focuses exclusively on braking systems.
According to Aguiar, they’re probably the only company in the world that only makes brakes.
PhotonPath has developed an optical sensor with them that can monitor temperature, deformation, and mechanical stress.
The company also has a proof-of-concept installed in the Netherlands in the utilities sector, where it uses its optical sensor to measure temperature in high-voltage environments — a challenging task that traditional sensors can’t handle safely or accurately.
A market at a tipping point
Integrated photonics isn’t a new field. Europe actually had a first-mover advantage thanks to early research programs that started around 15 years ago.
However Aguiar contends that one of the key issues has been that, like electronics in the early '90s, there wasn’t a single killer application.
“The tech was ready, but there was no unifying demand. What changed everything in electronics was the rise of companies like Broadcom, which used the same fabless business model we’re using now.
We’re now reaching a similar tipping point in photonics. Today, demand for computing and data centre interconnects is exploding. That’s creating a strong pull for optical solutions—not just for long-haul transmission, but also for short-reach, high-bandwidth, low-latency connections within and between data centres.
That’s the next wave of applications—and we’re aligning our next products to support that.”
The photonics manufacturing supply chain is still evolving so the company is also investing in automation and customisation to integrate more of its own IP into the production flow.
The company is fabless and works with established supply chain partners. It tries to keep as much of its supply chain as local as possible, partly due to geopolitical considerations. But for some advanced tasks — like chip assembly — we rely on highly specialised suppliers, including some in mainland China.
At the same time, because some of PhotonPath’s customers operate in the defence sector, it's required to maintain a controlled and traceable supply chain. So it's also built relationships with European suppliers to ensure that kind of compliance.
"That’s the next wave of applications — and we’re aligning our next products to support that.”
This Series A round is led by Join Capital alongside Deep Ocean Capital, through its funds Deep Blue Ventures (DBV) and Deep Blue Ventures Space (DBVS), and Levante Capital, who bring their extensive experience in Italian deep tech into the fold.
The new investors join existing shareholders RoboIT, the Tech Transfer hub from the Tech Transfer fund from CDP Venture Capital who also participate in the round, 360 Capital and Brembo Ventures, reinforcing a well-balanced investor base combining financial, industrial, and strategic expertise.
“PhotonPath is tackling one of the most critical challenges in the digital age, breaking through the limits of traditional electronics to unlock faster, more energy-efficient data acquisition and sensing,” said Jan Borgstädt, Partner at Join Capital.
“Their mission to transform how optical communications and infrastructure monitoring are done addresses urgent market needs and has the potential to reshape multiple industries.”
Emilia Garito, Chairman at Deep Ocean Capital, added:
“At Deep Ocean Capital SGR SPA, we are proud to be part of this evolution and to support one of Italy’s most promising startups in the field of deep tech and integrated photonics through the investment of our first two funds, DBV and DBVS.
PhotonPath is a tangible example of how research, industrial vision, and entrepreneurial skill can generate high-impact frontier technologies in Europe”
With the Series A proceeds, PhotonPath will scale production capacity for its proprietary chipsets and plug-and-play modules through expanded manufacturing partnerships and in-house calibration and quality control. It also plans to grow its sales force and commercial team and accelerate its product roadmap, targeting new opportunities in optical networking, industrial monitoring, and smart infrastructure.
Lead image: PhotoPath. Photo: uncredited.
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