Currently, the PhotonDelta ecosystem has 26 companies, 11 technology partners, and 12 R&D partners
PhotonDelta will use the capital to build 200 startups and for other purposes. (Credit: Bart van Overbeeke/PhotonDelta)
PhotonDelta, a Netherlands-based ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations, has raised €1.1bn of capital through public and private investment.
The investment, which is subject to conditions, will help the Netherlands take a leading position in the next generation of semiconductors. The conditions include a partnership agreement with a foundry, a research activity connected with applications of technology, and a current evaluation of PhotonDelta’s ecosystem.
Presently, the PhotonDelta ecosystem has 26 companies, 11 technology partners, and 12 research and development (R&D) partners.
The investment secured by the ecosystem includes funding of €470m coming from the Dutch government’s National Growth Fund. The rest of the amount is co-invested by multiple partners and stakeholders of PhotonDelta.
According to the ecosystem, the investment is part of the government’s national plan to strengthen and grow the country’s position among the leading suppliers of photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
The ecosystem programme is planned to be run for six years. It is expected to help PhotonDelta and its partners to invest further in photonic startups and scaleups, grow production and research facilities, draw and train talent, drive adoption, and build a world-class design library.
PhotonDelta CEO Ewit Roos said: “This investment is a game-changer. It will make the Netherlands the home of the next generation of semiconductors which will have a profound impact.
“The ongoing chip shortage highlights the pressing need to create its own production capabilities for strategic technologies. We will now be able to support hundreds of startups, researchers, producers and innovators to boost this industry that will be as impactful as the introduction of microelectronics a few decades ago.”
By the end of the decade, PhotonDelta aims to have developed an ecosystem with hundreds of firms catering to customers around the world, while having a wafer production capacity of over 100,000 per year.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has submitted the proposal for the semiconductor ecosystem by closely working with multiple universities and companies. These include the Eindhoven University of Technology, the University of Twente, Holst Centre, TNO, IMEC, CITC, PITC, Smart Photonics, Lionix International, and MantiSpectra.
The ecosystem is said to have jointly invested €171m in photonics firms such as Smart Photonics, Surfix, PhotonsFirst, MicroAlign, Effect Photonics, and Solmates.