PhotonDelta and Silicon Catalyst collaborate to push early-stage photonic startups

02 Apr 2025

Arrangement gives access to incubation program to deliver expertise, as well as funding.

Photonic chip accelerator PhotonDelta has established a strategic collaboration with Silicon Catalyst, an incubator and accelerator focused on the global semiconductor industry. Over the past five years, PhotonDelta says it has raised close to $1.5 billion to accelerate the commercialization of the photonics industry.

Both companies will work to enable photonics startups to scale successfully by providing a range of services, from giving access to experts, advisors, and investors. This arrangement, says PhotonDelta, “will provide a vital avenue for early-stage photonics startups to gain access to unparalleled expertise and funding opportunities. PhotonDelta will provide support from its photonics ecosystem to the Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies.”

PhotonDelta is a non-profit organization supporting a value chain for photonic chips that develops innovative solutions that contribute to a better world. Leveraging funding from the National Growth Fund of the Netherlands, alongside strategic investments, PhotonDelta is focused on accelerating the innovation cycle for early-stage companies targeting the photonic chip industry.

Value chain

PhotonDelta’s ecosystem comprises more than 70 different organizations that form a value chain, including design services, multiple foundries for photonic chip fabrication, packaging, assembly and testing, and an growing number of fabless companies that use PIC technology for innovative solutions. It also runs R&D programs, leads international road mapping activities, and invests in pioneering startups that apply photonics technology.

Silicon Catalyst has developed a support ecosystem with over 500 partners, for its semiconductor start-ups, providing a network of strategic partners, technical and business advisors, investors and industry professionals who help companies to launch and scale in the market. Its “In-Kind Partners” provide access to services, expertise, and intellectual property that can help commercialize their companies’ technological innovation.

Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO at PhotonDelta, commented, “In many ways the photonics sector is in the same position as the semiconductor industry was 30 years ago. There is unprecedented potential for growth, innovation and disruption. To grasp the opportunities in the market, photonics companies need the right intellectual, practical and financial support to achieve their potential. This collaboration is the latest step in PhotonDelta’s mission to accelerate the global integrated photonics industry.”

Pete Rodriguez, Silicon Catalyst CEO, said, “Silicon Catalyst has established an incubator and accelerator ecosystem within the semiconductor industry. By combining the power of our complementary systems, PhotonDelta and Silicon Catalyst hope to unleash a wave of transformative innovation and growth in the photonics sector on both sides of the Atlantic.”

About photonic integrated circuits

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs), when integrated into microchips, allow for the creation of smaller, faster and more energy-efficient devices. Photonic chips can sense, process and transmit data much more effectively than their electronic counterparts. But, as with conventional chips, the production process is carried out using automatic wafer-scale technology, allowing the chips to be mass-produced, reducing costs.

Crucially, photonic chips can overcome the expected limit to Moore’s Law and will also help tackle energy sustainability issues. Photonic chips are currently used in the data and telecom industry to reduce energy consumption per bit and increase speeds.

Besides the usage of PIC technology in data centers for enhanced performance and reduced energy consumption, integrated photonics also holds enormous opportunities for quantum computing and sensing solutions for new applications in healthcare, agriculture and automotive.

To drive this innovation, PhotonDelta secured $1.5 billion to run numerous R&D programs, lead international road mapping activities and invest in pioneering startups that apply PIC technology. Over the last five years, PhotonDelta has raised over $500 million for companies.

Exhibiting at OFC 2025

This week, the partners are this week in attendance at OFC in San Francisco. Executives from both parties will be present and available to provide further details about the collaboration (at OFC booth #6505).