Eindhoven-based Photon Bridge has raised €10 million to build laser light sources for the optical data links inside AI data centers. Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and 360 Capital co-led the round, with existing investors adding more money. The startup plans to ship first samples in 2027 and prepare for mass production from 2028.
Eindhoven-based Photon Bridge has raised €10 million to build laser light sources for the data links inside AI data centers, the company said Wednesday. The Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and 360 Capital co-led the round.
Existing investors Innovation Industries, Faber and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) also put in more money. The company was called Photon IP until last year, when it raised €4.75 million in seed funding.
Why do AI data centers need more lasers?
The money is aimed at a specific bottleneck. AI data centers increasingly use light instead of copper wires to move data between chips, and those optical links need lasers to supply the light. The existing supply chain was built for telecommunications, which needs far fewer of them.
“The industry will soon need millions of these laser sources every year,” said Paul Marchal, Photon Bridge’s chief executive.
How does Photon Bridge's laser design work?
Rather than building one powerful laser, Photon Bridge combines light from several weaker lasers, each operating on a different wavelength, and sends the combined light down a single fiber. The company says weaker lasers are less likely to fail during production, so more of them pass testing. Its design targets up to 40 milliwatts of power per wavelength.
Photon Bridge does not run its own factory. It works with outside chipmakers and can source lasers from several of them.
What will Photon Bridge do with its new funding?
The startup will use the new funding to develop its product, test it with customers and hire in Eindhoven. It plans to ship its first samples in 2027 and prepare for mass production from 2028.
Photon Bridge is not alone in drawing investor attention. Nvidia has put at least $6.5 billion into photonics firms since March, according to the report. CScale raised $145 million last month to stop laser failures from stalling AI systems. San Francisco’s Volantis also raised $88 million this month for photonic memory built on its own lasers.
The flow of capital reflects a broader push to move data inside AI systems with light rather than electrical signals, and to make the components that do it easier to manufacture at scale.
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