Photon Bridge raises €10M to address AI laser supply bottleneck

Dutch photonics startup Photon Bridge has secured €10 million in funding to address a critical bottleneck in AI infrastructure: the massive demand for lasers required to connect large clusters of AI processors.

As AI clusters expand to include hundreds of thousands of processors, moving data between chips via optical connections is becoming essential for performance. This shift is driven by the emergence of co-packaged optics, which integrates optical connectivity directly alongside data-moving chips. However, current high-power laser supply chains, built for telecom and subsea networks, lack the volume required for AI scale.

To meet this demand, Photon Bridge is designing technology that multiplexes light from multiple lower-power semiconductor lasers rather than relying on a few high-power units. This approach aims to improve production yields and allow for semiconductor-scale manufacturing. The funding round was co-led by Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and 360 Capital, with participation from existing investors Innovation Industries, Faber, and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM).