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Smart Photonics, a partner of PhotonDelta ecosystem, secured €75 million from the National Growth fund. Capital from the Netherlands ’ Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and other organizations will be used to build 200 startups, scale-up production, create new applications for photonic chips and develop infrastructure and talent. Photonic chips enable the creation of devices that are substantially faster, cheaper to produce, and use considerably less electricity.
The investment includes €470 million funding obtained through the National Growth Fund (Nationaal Groeifonds), while the rest is co-invested by various partners and stakeholders. It is part of the Dutch Government’s national plan to cement and expand the country’s position as a world leader in integrated photonics.
The program will run for six years and will enable PhotonDelta and its partners to further invest in photonic startups and scaleups, expand production and research facilities, attract and train talent, drive adoption, and develop a world-class design library. By 2030, PhotonDelta aims to have created an ecosystem with hundreds of companies, serving customers worldwide and a wafer production capacity of 100,000+ per year.
Within the program, SMART Photonics will be responsible for the industrialization of the PIC technology and will offer its technology to the broad Dutch ecosystem through its world-class design library. For this, they will receive € 75 million of investment. “We are thrilled to be a critical part of this unique partnership”, says Johan Feenstra, CEO of SMART Photonics. “This kind of investment into a fast-growing and highly promising young industry is unprecedented and is a great testament to its future potential. Furthermore, it is very important to see that this program combines pushing technology leadership with the ambition to build the associated production capability in the Netherlands.”
Click here to read PhotonDelta's €1.1 Billion Investment to Develop Next-Gen Semiconductor Technology in Netherlands.
