OpenLight Photonics Secures $34M in Funding Led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn Group

OpenLight Photonics, Inc. has received $34 million in funding from investors Xora Innovation Pte. Ltd., Capricorn Investment Group LLC, Mayfield Fund, Lam Research Capital, New Legacy Group, K2 Access Fund, and returning investor Juniper Networks, Inc. The funding round was led by Xora Innovation Pte. Ltd. and Capricorn Investment Group LLC.

Santa Barbara, CA — OpenLight Photonics, Inc., a leading innovator in custom Photonic Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (PASIC) chip design and manufacturing, has successfully raised $34 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Xora Innovation Pte. Ltd. and Capricorn Investment Group LLC, with participation from Mayfield Fund, Lam Research Capital, New Legacy Group, K2 Access Fund, and returning investor Juniper Networks, Inc. [1][2][3]

The funding marks a significant milestone for OpenLight, as it transitions from a Synopsys subsidiary to a high-velocity, venture-backed company. The capital infusion will enable OpenLight to expand its Process Design Kit (PDK) library, which provides customers with access to a comprehensive library of passive and active photonics components, including integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers, and detectors [1][2].

The PDK has been validated at leading photonics foundry, Tower Semiconductor, ensuring that designs are production-ready from day one. This validation accelerates time-to-market and facilitates scaled manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics [1][2]. OpenLight currently holds more than 360 patents covering its PDK and the manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics [1][2].

With the new funding, OpenLight plans to expand its PDK library to include leading-edge components such as a 400Gb/s modulator and indium phosphide heterogeneously integrated on-chip laser technology. The company will also scale its team to support customers as they transition to volume production over the next 12 months [1][2].

"As we enter this next phase of our company's growth, we are excited to be adding such strong investors with deep roots and expertise in the semiconductor and photonics industry," said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. "With this strong syndicate of investors, we can push the boundaries of innovation and deliver transformative solutions to our customers. This funding will allow us to scale our operations, deepen our R&D efforts and bring our groundbreaking products to market faster. We believe heterogeneous integrated silicon photonics will transform the way data is processed and transmitted, and we're excited to be at the forefront of this revolution." [1][2]

Investors recognize the potential of OpenLight's technology in addressing the growing demand for faster and more energy-efficient data movement in AI data center networks. "Xora has conviction that the field of photonics is going to see exponential growth in the coming years, and III-V heterogeneous integration is one of the foundational capabilities that will enable this growth," said Phil Inagaki, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Xora. "We see OpenLight not only as a technology leader in this field, but also as a company positioned to quickly scale manufacturing with foundry partners. One of the critical challenges for the photonics industry in the back half of this decade will be achieving scale, and we see OpenLight's PDK as an important part of the solution." [1][2]

"Optical connectivity in data centers has become critical for next-generation scale-up and scale-out AI architectures. OpenLight's heterogeneous integration delivers on all three axes of performance, reliability and cost, which will enable the explosive growth of optical IO," said Dipender Saluja, Managing Partner at Capricorn's Technology Impact Funds. "With the industry's leading team, open PDKs, strong foundry and customer relationships, OpenLight is best positioned to meet the scale of demand that is needed for next-generation AI hardware." [1][2]

OpenLight's executive and engineering teams deliver the world's first open silicon photonics platform, which integrates all the components of silicon photonics devices, both active and passive components, into one chip. The company's technology is designed to improve the performance, power efficiency, and reliability of designs for datacom, AI, high-performance computing, telecom, automotive, and industrial sensing applications [1][2].

The funding round underscores the growing interest in photonics technology and its potential to revolutionize data processing and transmission. With a strong investor syndicate and a robust technology platform, OpenLight is well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in this burgeoning market [1][2][3].

References:
[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/openlight-raises-34m-series-a-to-scale-next-gen-integrated-photonics-for-ai-data-centers-302538354.html
[2] https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20250826sf58822/openlight-raises-34m-series-a-to-scale-next-gen-integrated-photonics-for-ai-data-centers
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openlight-raises-34m-series-scale-100000685.html