Photon Bridge raises 10 million euros to expand laser sources for AI data centers – Unite.AI

The race to build larger AI systems is creating demand for a component far removed from the models themselves: the lasers that carry data between processors. The Photon Bridge in Eindhoven was born 10 million euros to develop multi-wavelength laser sources that are said to be capable of being produced at the volumes required by next-generation AI data centers.

The round, announced on October 21, was co-led by Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and 360 Capital. Existing investors Innovation Industries, Faber and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) also increased their investments.

Photon Bridge will use the funding for product development, customer qualification and the expansion of its Eindhoven team. It plans to deliver its first samples in 2027 and prepare for series production starting in 2028.

Why AI infrastructure needs multiple laser sources

A larger number of processors does not automatically produce a proportional increase in useful processing. The chips also need to exchange data fast enough to work together. As AI clusters grow, the power and bandwidth required for those connections become an increasingly important part of the system design.

Optical links solve this problem by transporting information using light. Co-packaged optics moves the optical connection closer to the electronic chip, shortening the electrical path. External laser sources provide the light used by optical engines to transmit data.

This creates a manufacturing challenge alongside the cyber challenge. Photon Bridge argues that the laser supply chain, developed around low-volume telecommunications applications, must adapt to the demands of much larger AI deployments. Its funding is aimed at transitioning from specialized component manufacturing to scale production of semiconductors.

The investment is part of a broader push to bring optical connectivity to AI infrastructure, reflected in developments such as Ayar Labs’ expansion of its co-packaged optics manufacturing. Photon Bridge targets the light source portion of that supply chain.

Scale the architecture rather than each individual laser

The Photon Bridge approach combines and multiplexes light from multiple low-power semiconductor lasers. Multiplexing places different wavelengths – actually different optical channels – on a shared path, allowing the system to increase its aggregate output without operating each laser at an increasingly demanding power level.

The company says lower power densities make individual lasers less susceptible to manufacturing defects, supporting better manufacturing yields. Yield is important because one technically sound device is not enough: manufacturers need a large enough production quota to meet specifications at an acceptable cost.

According to the funding announcement, the platform is designed to deliver high wavelength counts of up to 40 milliwatts of optical power per wavelength per fiberwhile supporting multi-smelter production of indium phosphide, or InP. This is a design goal of the platform, rather than proof that series production has already begun.

“Instead of making individual lasers increasingly powerful and difficult to manufacture, we move this scalability challenge into the architecture,” said Paul Marchal, CEO of Photon Bridge, in the announcement.

The technology behind the Light Engine

The technical description of the Photon Bridge product adds an important detail: Its wavelength multiplexer sits on a silicon interposer next to the laser array. The approach uses distributed feedback semiconductor lasers, or DFB, and is intended to support configurations with 8, 16 and 32 wavelengths.

Dense wavelength division multiplexing, usually abbreviated to DWDM, allows several wavelengths to share a fiber. Integrating the multiplexer with the laser array changes how the source is assembled and sized, rather than relying only on improvements made to the individual laser array.

To connect the different materials, the company uses a patented cantilever waveguide interface. It combines active III-V semiconductor devices, including lasers, with silicon photonics. Photon Bridge says the compliant structures allow for positioning variation during bonding and support passive optical alignment, reducing the need for separate alignment operations.

The platform also uses thick-film silicon waveguides. The company’s stated goal is to handle higher optical power with greater tolerance to manufacturing variations. These design choices connect the optical specifications to the larger business question: whether the device can be assembled and tested in a repeatable way.

A manufacturing strategy built around existing suppliers

Photon Bridge describes itself as a fabulous company. Develop product technology and architecture by collaborating with manufacturing partners, rather than building your own semiconductor manufacturing plant.

Its manufacturing approach is designed around commercial foundries and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, known as OSATs. The company describes the integration of previously tested laser arrays with silicon waveguides through flip-chip assembly, bringing optical and electrical connection into a common manufacturing flow.

The ability to source suitable lasers from multiple InP foundries is part of the proposition. For customers planning large deployments, vendor flexibility and qualification may be important along with optical power and number of channels. A source operating in a prototype still must meet reliability, packaging, and provisioning requirements before becoming a reliable data center component.

«When we start talking about millions of units per year, manufacturing yield becomes fundamental», explains Cesare Maifredi, partner of 360 Capital, in the press release.

What the new funding needs to accomplish

Founded in 2020 by Rui Santos and Xaveer Leijtens, Photon Bridge is moving towards commercialization under Marchal, who joined as CEO in September 2025. The press kit fact sheet brings the team to 15 people as of October, with plans to reach 20 by the end of 2026.

The next milestones are qualification and customer samples in 2027, followed by preparations for series production starting in 2028. These steps will test whether the architecture’s expected yield and supply chain benefits translate into a product that customers can deploy at scale.

The funding provides Photon Bridge with the resources to pursue a specific portion of its AI infrastructure expansion. As optical connections move closer to computing, the opportunity is to make the light source itself easier to produce, qualify and deliver, not simply more powerful.