Effect Photonics Raises $37m to Deliver InP PIC
Article By : Anne-Françoise Pelé
Effect Photonics, a spin-off from the Technical University of Eindhoven developing optical transceivers, has raised $37 million (about €31 million) in a Series C round.
Effect Photonics, a spin-off from the Technical University of Eindhoven developing optical transceivers, announced it has raised $37 million (about €31 million) in a Series C round. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of its Manta coherent photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and to scale production.
Founded in 2010, Effect Photonics designs and produces integrated optical communications products based on its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical SoC technology.
In March 2020, the Dutch startup tapped out the Manta chip targeted at pluggable coherent transceivers for the edge and metro/access networks. It integrates an ultra-narrow linewidth full band tunable laser, 64Gbaud coherent receiver, 64Gbaud coherent transmitter, wavelength locking and on-chip amplification for the transmit and receive paths, the company claimed. The Manta PIC is fabricated on Effect Photonics’ 3-in. and 4-in indium phosphide (InP) platforms.
“We have already enabled DWDM in high-capacity 5G Radio Access Networks through our low-cost autotuning SFP+ modules, which are deployed around the world,” commented James Regan, CEO of Effect Photonics, in a statement. “This funding and our partnership with our investors will allow us to take the next leap forward, bringing even higher capacity “coherent” products to the network edges, as well as scaling existing production.”
Conventional coherent approaches require external narrow-linewidth tunable lasers and amplification, wasting light and adding cost, space, and power consumption, said Effect Photonics’ CTO Tim Koene. “Already demonstrated to key customers, the non-hermetic Manta prototypes integrate all of these functions on a single chip, bringing a revolution in low electrical power consumption together with high optical output power: high transmission performance in a small form factor that will enable the next generation of edge network capacity.”
Co-led by Smile Invest together with existing investor Innovation Industries Fund, this Series-C round includes the participation of existing investors Innovation Industries Fund, Photon Delta, btov Partners, Brabant Development Agency and individual investors. The company closed a Series-A funding in 2015 and completed an €8 million Series-B in 2020.
Effect Photonics employs about 2,000 people and has a portfolio of 15 to 20 products.
This article was originally published on EE Times Europe.
Anne-Françoise Pelé is editor-in-chief of eetimes.eu and EE Times Europe.