The step change in technology, which will enable a new scale of photonic chip production, could result in a completely new balance of power in the global chip industry, in Europe’s favor. In practice, this could be the biggest innovation in this field since the invention of the transistor.
The semiconductor industry is facing its biggest transformation since the invention of the transistor. Silicon chips are nearing their physical limits. In contrast, photonic chips transmit data using light, that is, photons, rather than electrons, and therefore offer significantly higher transmission speeds without overheating. Until now, the main obstacles to the mass deployment of photonic chips have been their technological complexity and high manufacturing costs.
"Every major leap in human capability has come from learning to use a new medium better. We learned to use electrons. Now we are learning to use light. Cnuic is building the tools that make that possible at scale."
New technology represents a critical turning point for business, as these properties will enable global tech giants to operate data centers with radically lower cooling and electricity costs. In the field of AI, model training will be significantly accelerated by photonic chips, which eliminate “bottlenecks” in communication among thousands of processors. The underlying technology also opens up possibilities across a broader range of light-based systems, including metalenses, 3D photonic crystals, AR and VR waveguides, flexible gratings, and similar applications.
“Cnuic’s technology can democratize the production of photonic chips in much the same way that PCs democratized computing power.”
Martin Drdúl, co-founder of Tensor Ventures, who oversaw the investment alongside Ondřej Lipold, adds: “From a deep tech perspective, this is a completely new technology and a major breakthrough that could mean a whole new role for Europe in the semiconductor industry.”
