Photonic Computing
Light-based processors using photons instead of electrons for ultra-fast, energy-efficient computation and AI inference.
Inphi (now Marvell)
US · Santa Clara, CaliforniaFormer high-speed data interconnect company, acquired by Marvell in 2021. Pioneered PAM4 DSPs and optical PHYs for data center connectivity.
Lumentum
US · San Jose, CaliforniaAmerican photonics company specializing in optical and photonic products. Leader in 3D sensing, telecom lasers, and optical components for data communications.
OptQC
JP · JapanJapanese photonic quantum computing startup.
Coherent
US · Saxonburg, PennsylvaniaAmerican photonics company formed from II-VI acquiring Coherent. Leader in compound semiconductors, lasers, and optical components for communications and industrial.
OpenLight
US · Santa Barbara, CAOpen silicon photonics platform. Foundry-agnostic photonic IC design.
Scintil Photonics
FR · Grenoble, FranceSilicon photonic ICs with integrated lasers. $58M Series B (2024), NVIDIA investor, AI datacenter focus.
Broadcom
US · Palo Alto, CACustom AI ASICs with optical attach, Tomahawk switches. Major hyperscaler partnerships.
Nubis (Ciena)
US · United StatesOptical engines for AI infrastructure. Acquired by Ciena (2025).
Marvell Technology
US · Wilmington, DESilicon photonics leader. Acquired Celestial AI ($3.25B, Dec 2025), 1.6T light engines for AI networks.
Xanadu
CA · Toronto, CanadaPhotonic quantum computing. Aurora 12-qubit (Jan 2025), $275M raised, $1B valuation.
TuringQ
CN · BeijingChinese photonic quantum computing company. Developing optical quantum computing systems for practical applications. Focus on photonic qubits.
GlobalFoundries
US · Malta, NYThird-largest foundry. Fotonix silicon photonics platform, US-based manufacturing.
SiPhox Health
US · Burlington, MASilicon photonics chips for at-home blood testing. Leverages datacenter optical tech for biotech. YC W20.
Optalysys
GB · Glasgow, UKOptical computing for genomics and AI. Light-based Fourier transforms.
PINC Technologies
US · Pasadena, CAIntegrated nonlinear photonics. Caltech spinout, $6.8M seed (Oct 2025).
Hyperlight
US · Cambridge, MAThin film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulators. MIT spinout, high-bandwidth optics.
Enosemi
US · United StatesSilicon photonics chiplets. Acquired by AMD (May 2025), ex-Luminous/Elenion team.
DenseLight Semiconductors
SG · SingaporeInP/GaAs photonics for datacom and sensing. SLED modules, DFB lasers. Silicon photonics integration with AMF.
Lumai
GB · Oxford, UKOptical matrix multiplication. $10M raised (2025), claims 50x performance.
PsiQuantum
US · Palo Alto, CAPhotonic quantum computing. Omega chipset (Feb 2025), $450M Series D, potential $6B valuation.
Arago
FR · Paris, FrancePhotonic AI accelerators. $26M seed (2025), Paris-based, energy-efficient.
Lumiphase
CH · ZurichSwiss photonics startup developing electro-optical modulators using Barium Titanium Oxide. CMOS-compatible technology for high-speed optical communications and computing.
ams-OSRAM
AT · PremstättenAustrian-German semiconductor company formed from ams AG acquiring OSRAM. Specializes in optical sensors, LEDs, and photonics for automotive, consumer, and industrial.
BluGlass
AU · Sydney, NSWGaN laser diodes and LEDs. RPCVD manufacturing technology. Industrial, defence, display applications. Silicon Valley fab.
Dream Photonics
DK · Copenhagen, DenmarkSilicon photonics foundry services. Custom PIC manufacturing.
Arago
FR · FrancePhotonic AI accelerators. $26M seed (2025), hybrid digital/analog/optical approach.
LightIC
CN · ChinaPhotonic in-memory computing using phase-change materials.
Akhetonics
DE · GermanyAll-optical general-purpose chip. €6M seed (Nov 2024).
NcodiN
FR · FranceNanophotonics and photonic interposer. €16M seed (2025), replacing copper interconnects.
Effect Photonics
NL · Eindhoven, NetherlandsIntegrated photonics for optical networks. Coherent pluggables.
II-VI/Finisar (now Coherent)
US · Saxonburg, PennsylvaniaFormer II-VI Incorporated, merged with Coherent. Compound semiconductors, optical transceivers, and photonic components for data centers and telecom.
CamGraPhIC
IT · ItalyGraphene-based transceivers. €25M Series A, 80% less energy than traditional optics.
Luminous Computing
US · Palo Alto, CAPhotonic AI supercomputer on a chip. Claims to surpass NVIDIA GPUs in performance/watt.
Lightmatter
US · Boston, MAPassage photonic interconnects (L200/L200x: 32–64 Tbps, 5-10× bandwidth density, 2026) and Envise AI accelerator. $850M total raised; $400M Series D (Oct 2025, Google re-invested). $4.4B valuation.
Lightium
CH · Zurich, SwitzerlandSilicon photonics from Switzerland. High-speed optical transceivers.
iPronics
ES · Valencia, SpainProgrammable photonic processor. €20M Series A (2025).
PsiQuantum
US · Palo Alto, CAPhotonic quantum computing. $665M raised, manufacturing partnership with GlobalFoundries.
Lumotive
US · Seattle, WASoftware-defined solid-state LiDAR. $45M Series B, photonic beamforming.
Opticore
US · United StatesOptical Processing Units (OPUs). $7.5M seed, trillion parameters on single chip.
NeoPhotonics (now Lumentum)
US · San Jose, CaliforniaFormer optical communications company, acquired by Lumentum in 2022. High-speed optical components for cloud and telecom networks.
Neurophos
US · United StatesOptical Processing Unit (OPU) using micron-scale metamaterial modulators — 10,000× smaller than conventional photonic elements. Claims 100× performance and efficiency vs leading GPUs. Production target mid-2028. $118M total ($110M oversubscribed Series A, Jan 2026) — Gates Frontier, Microsoft M12, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures.
Wave Photonics
GB · CambridgeUK photonics design company developing computational design tools for photonic integrated circuits. Spin-out from University of Cambridge.
Ayar Labs
US · Santa Clara, CAIn-package optical I/O chiplets enabling on-chip bandwidth revolution. $593.9M total raised (NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel all invested). $1B+ valuation. Market maturity expected 2026–2028.
Ranovus
CA · Ottawa, CanadaOdin silicon photonics engine. Multi-wavelength quantum dot lasers, GlobalFoundries Fotonix partner.
Celestial AI
US · Santa Clara, CAPhotonic Fabric interconnects — HBM3E/HBM4 compatible. Acquired by Marvell for $3.25B (Dec 2025). Technology now part of Marvell AI networking portfolio.
POET Technologies
CA · Toronto, ONPhotonic integrated circuits. POET Optical Interposer platform. High-speed optical engines for AI and data centers.
CogniFiber
IL · IsraelOptical fiber computing. All-optical AI processing in fiber.
Xscape Photonics
US · United StatesProgrammable comb lasers. DWDM technology for AI nodes.
Lightelligence
US · Boston, MASilicon photonic computing (PACE). LightSphere X - world's first optical GPU solution.
nEye Systems
US · United StatesSolid-state LiDAR with photonics. $72M raised.
Avicena
US · Sunnyvale, CAOptical µLED interconnect for chip-to-chip communication.
Volantis
US · San Francisco, CAPhotonic interconnects using direct laser modulation and VCSELs. Claims 15x performance improvement. YC 2022.