PhotonHub Scaling Club 2.0 PHSC 1.0

The first cohort brought together 14 exceptional European SMEs pioneering photonics-based solutions in communications and digital infrastructure. Each company was backed by a proven business model, significant early-stage traction, and breakthrough technologies with the power to reshape critical industries. Selected through a rigorous process involving expert review and investor nomination, these innovators are actively advancing from prototype to small-series production to meet real-world demands.The first edition has officially concluded with a remarkable milestone: €81 million in investments secured by participating companies during the programme itself. This powerful validation of the model demonstrates how focused mentorship, investor access, and strategic guidance can accelerate Europe’s most promising photonics scale-ups.Explore the first cohort companies below to discover the innovative SMEs behind these breakthroughs, each contributing to the advancement of photonics technologies and strengthening Europe’s position in next-generation digital infrastructure.

Aircision‘s mission is to close the gap between the unconnected and connected. The company provides a Free Space Optics communication system based on disruptive line-of-sight laser technology that can increase the network connectivity in areas where expansion is problematic or systems need to deployed quickly. Founded in 2019 in the HighTechXL Venture Builder, Aircision is a TNO Spinoff.

Alcyon Photonics provides high performance photonics engines to suppport critical demand applications in the fields of communications and sensing. Alcyon plans to combine its IP portfolio and own SWG design know-how to build new optical engines that enable scalation and unlocks of further industries: Telecom, Lidar, BioSensor… Alcyon is translates into commercial IP (Building Block designs) the Subwavelength Grating (SWG) design know-how developed by leading researcher and partner Aitor Villafranca. Alcyon’s SWG Building Block library empowers customers circuit designs with beyond State-of-the-Art high performance and new functionalities, such as integrated polarization management

Astrape Networks is on a mission to empower network architects with innovative solutions for efficiently managing diverse data traffic simultaneously within the same network. Based in the vibrant hub of Brainport Eindhoven, at the heart of Europe rapidly growing photonics ecosystem, the company is shaping the future of networking from the High Tech Campus.

E-S-TEL srl pushes the boundaries of optical communication to provide you with cutting-edge solutions in optical transceivers. As an industry leader, the company takes pride in designing, manufacturing, and delivering top-quality products that are entirely manufactured in Europe, ensuring the highest standards of quality and performance as well as providing a local technical support.

EYEO revolutionizes imaging with its game-changing and unbeatable image sensors, designed for smartphones and a wide range of other applications. Using their unique and proprietary technology to split light into colors, eyeo solves a fundamental limitation of current image sensors and makes them exceptionally light-sensitive. eyeo is creating the future of imaging.

The goal of Solinide Photonics is to become a provider of microcombs — a novel laser source that provides multiple wavelengths. Built in the SiN platform, Solinide Photonics’ microcomb technology is power-efficient, scalable and mass manufacturable. As such it can have tremendous impact on mass-market applications such as datacenter interconnects, replacing the current technology with much needed improvement of energy-efficiency and scalability in data-rates.

Lighthium AG enables the next generation of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The company provides production-grade TFLN PIC foundry services to customers in the datacom, telecom, AI, Quantum, and aerospace industries.

Ncodin is revolutionizing High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence processors by developing an optical interposer that overcomes the limitations of traditional electrical interconnects. Using nanophotonic chips to replace copper wires with light-based communication links, Ncodin enables ultra-fast, energy-efficient die-to-die communication, unlocking unprecedented scalability and performance for next-gen processors.

Photon IP is now Photon Bridge who takes a radically different path to photonic integration – their cantilever waveguide coupling fuses III-V performance with silicon scalability in a way no one else can. By combining breakthrough technology with flawless execution, they’re building the optical engines that will drive the next era of AI and telecom.

Pilot Photonics is pioneering the next generation of laser and photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based products, delivering unmatched performance and energy efficiency. Leveraging a decade of cutting-edge research from Ireland’s top institutions and a full-stack photonics approach, Pilot Photonics accelerates development from wafer design to software control, empowering Tier 1 customers across multiple industries to achieve unprecedented innovation and market leadership.

Pixel Photonics is revolutionizing photon detection with its breakthrough integration of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) and nanophotonic waveguides on a single chip. Their Dena detector series combines state-of-the-art single photon detection with integrated photonics, enabling powerful applications in quantum computing, secure quantum communication, LiDAR, and single-photon imaging, setting new standards for precision and efficiency in the photonics industry.

Polariton builds the world’s fastest and smallest electro-optic modulators, breaking the interconnect bottleneck. The company’s devices have been demonstrated to be more than 10 times faster than state-of-the-art photonic modulators (880 GHz world record in the lab). Our modulators are more compact and energy-efficient, which addresses the key challenges of optical and wireless communication industry. These world-records are enabled by Polariton Technologies’ plasmonic modulator technology. For the next generation data center clusters and AI applications, Polariton is currently enabling 400G per lane transmission which is used in the 1.6T and 3.2T transceiver generation.

Sparrow Quantum pioneers chip technology that generates the qubits that power optical quantum computers, quantum communication, and the quantum internet. The company’s core technology, an on-chip deterministic single-photon source, sets industry benchmarks and has been adopted by quantum technology leaders worldwide.

Swave Photonics is a fabless semiconductor company that designs and markets holographic chips based on proprietary diffractive photonics technology. Its mission is to bring the metaverse to life and enable display manufacturers and content creators to disrupt the visualization market with immersive, ultra-high-resolution, lifelike, true holographic displays. Swave envisions a world where holographic displays give everyone the power to visualize the impossible, collaborate and accomplish more.

PhotonHub Scaling Club 1.0