Eindhoven-based Chromodynamics, a deep tech company, announced on Monday, that it has raised €2M in Seed funding from investment fund KIKK Capital.

The Dutch company will use the funds to complete the development of its microscopy product and launch commercially into the biomedical research market.

“It is really exciting to secure the funding needed to realise our vision,” says Wouter Vijvers, founder and CEO of Chromodynamics.

“Over the past years, we have done so much market validation and technology development to prove that we have a winner in our hands. Now, we can enter the next phase. Our solution improves upon the state-of-the-art by an order of magnitude on all important performance metrics (throughput, ease-of-use, level of detail), while dramatically reducing costs for the customer,” adds Vijvers.

Chromodynamics: Microscopy innovator

Founded in 2019, Chromodynamics is on a mission to deliver instruments that eliminate guesswork from drug development and prescription.

The company does this by developing innovative microscopy products based on advanced hyperspectral imaging technology.

Located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the company is preparing to launch a fully automated microscope platform that can autonomously identify cells in tissue samples.

This technology addresses a significant need in the biomedical research market by streamlining drug development.

Typically, testing new compounds for efficacy and safety is complex and time-consuming, often taking months.

Chromodynamics’ solution reduces this analysis time to under a week, helping to better predict patient responses by accurately mapping tissue interactions.

The Dutch company is working to finish product development for a launch in the translational research market.

The goal is to speed up drug development, especially for cancer immunotherapies. Eventually, the platform will be used as a diagnostic tool for personalised medicine.

“I want to live in a world where treatments are kinder to the patient, but harsher on the disease, and known to work for each unique individual before being administered.”, adds Wouter Vijvers. “With the support of KIKK Capital, we have taken a big step towards the launch of a product that brings us closer to that future. And that is what drives our talented team to great heights.”

The investor

KIKK Capital is a deep tech investor that works with startups to build strong and sustainable businesses.

The company supports driven management teams by providing funding and helping them make the most of growth opportunities.

“From the first meeting with Chromodynamics, we were impressed by the founders and their innovative solution addressing a significant challenge in the biotech industry. As a Deep Tech investor and experienced investor in biotech platform technology, we are well-positioned to support Chromodynamics with our expertise in building successful companies and leveraging our network in the biotech industry,” says Johan Sebregts, Managing Partner at KIKK Capital.

Helsinki-based venture capital firm Maki.vc has launched its third fund of €100M to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the Nordics and Northern Europe. 

Focused on the Nordic region, the fund leverages deep tech expertise and a supportive public investment landscape. 

Backed by over 50 limited partners—including leaders from Skype, Wise, RELEX Solutions, WithSecure (formerly F-Secure), Aiven, and Supercell—the fund aims to draw on their experience in scaling tech companies. 

Maki.vc has also built a global network of advisors to provide portfolio startups with hands-on support in recruiting, branding, and funding.

Aim of the new fund

Maki.vc’s new fund is an Article 8 fund focused on startups that promote environmental and social objectives, with investments aimed at pre-seed and seed-stage companies.

Pauliina Martikainen, Partner at Maki.vc, says, “The Nordics represent one of the most significant startup funding regions in Europe, and we believe that investment opportunities here are greater than ever.”

“This unique ecosystem blends cutting-edge R&D, strong industry collaborations, deep tech expertise, and a proven track record of entrepreneurial success, making it the ideal launchpad for tech companies to achieve meaningful global impact.”

The fund has already made seven investments, including Distance Technologies, QMill and Ever Cars. 

Initial investments range from €300K to €3M, with selective follow-on funding. Previous funds from Maki.vc supported companies like Spinnova, which went public in 2021, and saw exits such as Ultimate (acquired by Zendesk) and Revela (acquired by Oddity).

The portfolio also features companies like IQM in quantum tech, Onego Bio (animal-free egg whites), Strise (AI-driven AML), Enfuce (payment solutions), and CardioSignal (smartphone heart disease detection).

Brief about Maki.vc

Founded in 2018, Maki.vc focuses on early-stage investments in deeptech and brand-driven startups across consumer and enterprise sectors.

Led by partners Ilkka Kivimäki, Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu, Pirkka Palomäki, and Paavo Räisänen, Maki.vc targets companies with scientific innovation, strong intellectual property, and in-depth customer insights. 

Approximately two-thirds of its fund is reserved for follow-on investments to support portfolio companies as they scale.

The European Innovation Council (EIC), part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, will invest €1.4B in 2025 to support deeptech research and high-potential startups across Europe. 

The newly adopted EIC Work Programme 2025 will increase funding by €200M over 2024. Along with the increased budget, the programme introduces enhanced access to scale-up funding through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) scale-up scheme, developed after the STEP regulation was adopted earlier this year. 

Additional updates based on EIC Board recommendations are also included to further support growth in European tech innovation.

Boosting European tech innovation

The EIC introduced the STEP Scale-up scheme, with a €300M budget for 2025 (projected to reach €900M by 2027), to support strategic tech development and reduce EU dependencies. 

Investments per company will range from €10 to €30M, aiming to reach €50 to €150M with private co-funding. Targeted sectors include digital, clean tech, and biotech. 

Additionally, €120M will fund emerging technologies, and €250M will support early-stage companies in fields like AI and future mobility. Increased access to Business Acceleration Services and Seals of Excellence will further help startups secure additional funding sources, like Cohesion Policy Funds.

EIC Work Programme 2025

The EIC Work Programme 2025 features three primary funding schemes aimed at fostering innovation in Europe. The EIC Pathfinder will provide €262M to multidisciplinary research teams for early-stage technology research, offering grants of up to €4M for projects with breakthrough potential.

The EIC Transition scheme has a budget of €98M to help convert research findings into market opportunities, with grants up to €2.5M for follow-up projects. 

The EIC Accelerator will support startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with €634M to develop and scale innovations, offering grants below €2.5M and investments ranging from €500,000 to €10M.

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, says, “The European Innovation Council has emerged as a gamechanger in EU support to breakthrough innovation. In 2025, it will boost EU deep tech with even more resources, amounting to €1.4B from Horizon Europe, our research and innovation programme.”

“The targeted support, especially through the STEP scale-up call, will help bridge critical funding gaps and build a stronger, more resilient innovation ecosystem in Europe.”

Additionally, the STEP Scale-up scheme (€300M) will provide equity funding to high-potential companies in critical tech areas to attract private co-investment (investments from €10M to €30M). These funding initiatives are supported by business acceleration services to connect innovators with experts, investors, and industry partners.

Brief about the European Innovation Council

The European Innovation Council (EIC) was established in March 2021 as part of the Horizon Europe programme, building on a pilot phase from 2018 to 2020. 

With a budget exceeding €10B for the period 2021-2027, the EIC has supported over 630 companies and more than 450 research projects to date. Its investment arm, the EIC Fund, has made €1B in investments in deeptech startups and has leveraged over four times that amount in co-investments. 

The Commission has launched the EIC Trusted Investors Network to enhance venture capital access for EIC-backed companies. Additionally, the STEP regulation, effective from March 2024, allows for greater investment flexibility under the EIC in strategic areas. 
Interested applicants can attend EIC information days on November 5 (general one) and 6 (EIC Accelerator Challenges), 2024.

Lyngby, Denmark-based PSV Hafnium, a new early-stage venture fund dedicated to deep tech, has announced its launch.

Besides the launch, the Danish fund also announced that it has secured DKK 185M (approximately €24.8M) from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and  DKK 100M (approximately €13.4M) from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).

With a fund size cap of €80.4M (DKK 600M), PSV Hafnium aims to back science-based clean tech, health tech, and next-generation industrial solutions, and expects to invest in 30 companies.

“Deep tech is one part of the multi-faceted solution for our climate challenges,” says EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. 

“The EIF’s mission is to make sure that European businesses can access the funding they need, especially in the earliest stages of their development. Our support for this fund will contribute to meeting this critical market need and ensuring the availability of capital for novel technologies that can have a very real impact in addressing climate and environmental challenges,” adds Falkstedt.

Fund utilisation

The fund will make pre-seed and seed stage investments in science-based technology companies with strong intellectual property.

These companies should have their technologies validated in a lab or relevant environment and be led by teams with strong scientific backgrounds.

The fund has a broad sector focus but primarily sources investment opportunities in Denmark.

The fund is dedicated to investing at least 65 per cent in “Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability” as defined by EIF.

At present, PSV Hafnium has invested in four deep tech startups.

Additionally, PSV Hafnium, as part of the PSV venture house with PSV Foundry as LP in the fund, has close ties to DTU.

Here the fund is close to scientific experts and innovation, benefitting from the DTU ecosystem. DTU has the past years been ranked as no. one in Europe when it comes to engineering and technology.

Anders Bjarklev, President of DTU says, “DTU’s vision is to create value for society and the world through research that solves global challenges and supports inventions towards the market. Building bridges between university and venture environments is essential, which is why it has been crucial for us to support PSV Foundry and the Managing Partners in creating a fund with a 100% focus on deep tech.”

The investors

The EIF, a part of the EIB Group, supports Europe’s SMEs by improving their access to finance through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries.

The EIF designs, promotes, and implements equity and debt financing instruments targeting SMEs. 

The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) is the national promotional bank and export credit agency of Denmark combined into one financial institution.

Active in over 100 countries, and with a total business volume of more than €20B, EIFO provides financial solutions for Danish companies and their global partners, while also investing in startups and funds.

Erik Balck Sørensen, CIO at EIFO, adds, “EIFO is committed to leveraging groundbreaking Danish deep tech research for transformative solutions. With the strong support of EIF Denmark now has its first-ever early-stage deep tech fund, designed to meet the segment’s specific need for patient, long-term working capital. The EIF’s sizeable engagement in PSV Hafnium is a recognition of the quality of Danish deep tech research and an endorsement of the PSV Hafnium management team. Through this investment, we hope to fast-track the commercialisation of the most promising deep tech research.”

Tensor Ventures has launched a €50M fund aimed at investing in deeptech startups, focusing on sectors such as AI, quantum computing, biotech, and sustainable technology. The fund will target innovative companies in the Czech Republic and internationally.

The fund, led by Roman Smola, Martin Drdul, and Petr Ulvr, builds on the success of its first fund, which invested €20M into 20 startups over the past four years. 

The new fund opens opportunities for investors to participate in sectors such as quantum technology, biotechnology, security tech, Software 2.0, energy, and climate tech. Additionally, space technologies have been added to its focus.

Tensor Ventures is also strengthening its leadership team by bringing in Ondřej Ptáček, formerly of PwC, as CFO, and Jan Faflík, an ex-RSJ executive, to oversee biotech investments.

Roman Smola, says, “Initially, investors joined because they trusted our expertise. It was something new for them, and they knew it was beneficial to invest early in this fast-growing segment. More recently, investors have been motivated by the sector’s resilience to fluctuations in global investment trends, with year-over-year stable growth in deep tech investments.”

Tensor Ventures’ new fund allows investors to engage with some of the most advanced startups in deep tech. Half of the fund’s capital will be invested in Czech startups, with the remainder allocated to promising companies worldwide.

Growing institutional support

Over the past four years, Tensor Ventures has supported 20 early-stage startups globally. Among these were quantum technology companies like QC82 and Quantagonia, biotech firms such as Solvemed and HeartBeat.bio, and Software 2.0 companies like Pointee and dstack. 

The fund also ventured into decentralised technologies and energy-related fields, backing startups like Blockmate and Bioo.

Two of these startups were acquired by larger corporations: the Czech startup UltimateSuite was acquired by ServiceNow, and Neuronix AI, a US-Israeli startup, was bought by Microchip Technology.

Institutional investors are taking notice of Tensor Ventures’ impact on deep tech. Recently, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Europe’s largest institutional investor, committed €20M to the second fund.

Tensor Ventures aims to solidify its position as a leading investor in the deep tech space, both in the Czech Republic and globally.

Brief about Tensor Ventures

Tensor Ventures is focused on deep tech innovation, actively investing in emerging sectors like AI, quantum computing, computational biotech, and sustainable technology. The firm aims to lead in areas experiencing transformative change, identifying opportunities where technology is pushing boundaries.

Tensor Ventures targets startups that drive disruption, employing unconventional scouting methods such as proprietary deal sourcing and university referrals to discover innovative ventures.

The firm operates globally, working with venture capital partners and top universities to foster a network of expert minds, continuously collaborating across borders to identify high-potential startups.

Tensor Ventures invests primarily in Seed and Series A rounds. Whether leading or co-investing with trusted partners, the firm remains dedicated to sectors where it has deep expertise, ensuring informed and strategic investments.

Paris-based Samp, an AI-generated digital twin solution providing real-time insights into sensitive industrial sites, has closed €6M funding round.

The funding round was led by US-based Promus Ventures, with additional investment from Kvanted, a Northern European VC firm specialising in industrial technology.

Jeremy Teboul, Vice President at Promus Ventures, says, “We are excited to partner with the team at Samp and support their mission to become the operating system of Industry 4.0.”

By combining artificial intelligence with technical documentation and 3D data, Samp’s Shared Reality platform significantly enhances operators’ operational efficiency and accuracy, particularly in the water and energy sectors. We look forward to supporting them in this next growth phase.”

Samp co-founder Laurent Bourgouin adds, “This fundraising marks a crucial step in our development. We are delighted to be able to count on our investors’ support to realise our vision: transforming industrial sites around the world with our real-time updateable digital twins and contributing to a safer, more efficient, and more sustainable industry.”

Bringing simplicity to industrial revamping & maintenance

Founded in 2019 by Shivani Shah and Laurent Bourgouin, Samp is a deep tech company that accelerates industrial site transformation and decarbonisation with a digital twin created from field data in just days.

The company aims to help industrial sites address sustainability, safety, and staffing challenges.

Its patented “Shared Reality” solution integrates 3D scans with often outdated technical documentation, using AI and 3D streaming to create digital twins for optimising industrial infrastructure management.

By integrating image captures from sites, these digital twins provide an accurate 3D view, enabling informed decision-making for inspections, maintenance, and modifications.

Co-founder Bourgouin, says, “Our ‘Shared Reality’ solution accelerates and improves the reliability of these sites’ transition towards sustainable production. Our ambition is to become the key solution allowing industrial players to face today’s colossal challenges in terms of security, resilience, and the environment.”

Companies such as Engie, SUEZ, VEOLIA, Teréga, Trapil, and SFDM have adopted Samp’s solutions.

Funds for expansion

According to Samp, the capital will help the company become a leader among companies using “intelligent 3D scans”. Currently active in over 150 French industrial sites, Samp aims to be the go-to solution for efficient, simplified, and safer asset monitoring. 

The funding will help the company to address challenges like outdated documentation and knowledge loss, essential for modernising industrial sites. 

It will also support growing demand by expanding the sales team in France and Europe, advancing R&D in AI and 3D technologies, and preparing for international expansion beyond Europe.

Brief about the investors

Founded in 2012, Promus Ventures invests in early-stage deeptech startups addressing complex global challenges. With offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Luxembourg, the firm has backed over 100 startups across the US, Europe, and New Zealand. 

Promus Ventures’ investments include Rocket Lab, Whoop, Spire, Mapbox, and ICEYE, among others.

Kvanted, based in Helsinki, is an early-stage investor specialising in industrial technology. Founded in 2023 with a €70M fund, Kvanted focuses on Northern European startups developing software and hardware to transform the industrial value chain and promote decarbonisation and digital transformation. 

The firm claims to be the first pure-play industrial technology investor in the Nordic region, founded by Eerik Paasikivi, Maria Wasastjerna, and Axel Ahlström.

Nantes-based D-ICE Engineering, a French deeptech company focused on energy transition and decarbonisation in the maritime and offshore industries, has secured €6M in a Series A round of funding.

The round was led by SWEN CP’s Blue Ocean fund, which targets innovations that help regenerate ocean biodiversity.

New strategic partner Mer Invest joins the round, while existing investors Pays de la Loire Développement (Sodero Gestion), Atlantique Vendée Innovation (Crédit Agricole Atlantique Vendée), and Pays de la Loire Participations reaffirm their support.

Killian du Réau, Investment manager at Turenne Capital, says, “The solutions developed by D-ICE and their applications offer a practical approach to decarbonising maritime operators and offshore energy producers. We are very proud to support the development of this initiative, born from our territories, in its international trajectory and its global impact.”

Capital utilisation

The funds will accelerate the global commercialisation of D-ICE’s solutions, contributing to a more sustainable and decarbonised future.

Marc CHANCEREL, Partners at Blueprint Partners, says, “OCEANICS outperforms existing navigation systems to secure and decarbonise maritime operations. 

“With this funding, D-ICE is expanding its activity to support shipowners and maritime operators worldwide and help them reduce their carbon footprint (currently one gigaton of CO2 / $220B of annual energy bill).”

Decarbonising maritime and offshore industries

Founded in 2015 by ocean-passionate scientists, D-ICE Engineering claims to be an innovative research & engineering deeptech company tackling maritime challenges like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving safety at sea, and advancing clean energy production. 

D-ICE develops advanced modeling, simulation tools, and innovative systems for maritime operations. Committed to protecting the oceans, the company shapes a safer, more sustainable, and efficient future for maritime and offshore industries. 

OCEANiCS, a navigation system by D-ICE

D-ICE Engineering has integrated its expertise in multi-physics modeling, control, weather routing, and energy optimisation into OCEANiCS, a platform that optimises maritime operations, significantly reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sofien Kerkeni, CEO of D-ICE Engineering, says, “The energy transition is now more than a priority. After years of research and hard work, we are proud to offer solid and high-performing solutions for all players in the maritime world.”

“Our innovations have proven their operational effectiveness, and today we are reaching a significant milestone as we prepare to tackle the global challenges of this transformation, supported by investors who share our values, vision, and motivation.”

Tidalkite, an underwater kite designed to harness energy from tidal currents in three dimensions, has received a €2.5 million grant from Waddenfonds (Wadden Fund). 

The Tidalkite is an innovative underwater kite specifically developed to utilise energy from tidal currents in three dimensions. 

It’s a patented, multi-wing design that enables a single Tidalkite unit to capture more energy than conventional tidal technologies, making it feasible for deployment in various locations globally.

Dutch deeptech Seaqurrent

According to Seaqurrent, the Dutch deeptech and clean energy startup behind this technology, it represents a significant achievement in lowering the cost of generating electricity from tidal energy. 

“Tidal currents pack immense energy. Sailors understand that battling these currents requires resilience and determination, symbolising the spirit of perseverance needed to navigate challenges and achieve goals,” stated Youri Wentzel, the CEO and founder of Seaqurrent, a startup that wants to make electricity generated from tidal currents affordable and internationally accessible.

Tidalkite contributes to green energy

TidalKite retrieves green energy from the tidal flow and may eventually be used to contribute to an energy-neutral Ameland, an island off the coast of the Netherlands.

The Wadden Sea around the islands is known for its unique shallow body of water and tidal flats.

How does it work? The Tidalkite is a large kite that moves underwater perpendicular to the sea current. 

This movement generates a pulling force, which is used to extract a cylinder. The extracted cylinder then drives a generator and hydromotor to produce electricity. 

Further development

According to Wadden Fund, the technology needs further development and optimisation. One aspect under consideration is improving soil anchoring. 

Furthermore, proper ecological integration is part of the knowledge project, focusing on monitoring the impact of kite noise on marine life.

The project is expected to deliver 5 megawatts of renewable generating capacity in due time, which could be installed in the Borndiep near the island of Ameland. 

This type of tidal energy has the potential to help the island achieve energy self-sufficiency. In May, Seaqurrent deployed the first test kite near the island.

“We use a kite because it can cover a much larger area, certainly in areas where the depth is more shallow, and the water velocities are lower, giving us more energy per device,” co-founder Maarten Berkhout explains. 

“Possibly, this form of tidal energy could contribute to making the island energy-neutral. This aspect is part of the study. If the trial succeeds and further upscaling follows, the TidalKite could provide half the clean energy to the Wadden Islands from 2026,” Wadden Fund states.

Wadden Fund’s objective

The project is aligned with the Wadden Fund’s objective of promoting sustainable economic growth in the Wadden region.

It specifically aims to accelerate the development and scaling of sustainable technologies that generate electricity from water in the Wadden Sea and the North Sea coastal zone.

The Wadden Fund grant is part of the Investment Framework Wadden Region (IKW) scheme and a component of the PROSIT knowledge project.

The total budgeted costs are about €7 million. With the funding, Seaqurrent aims to enhance the marketability of underwater kite technology. 

Seaqurrent secured funding

In 2022, SeaQurrent secured €4.8M in funding in a round of investment, with EIT InnoEnergy, PMH Investments, Invest-NL, the FOM, and NOM joining as shareholders.

Seaqurrent was founded in 2015 in Grou, Friesland, in the North of the Netherlands, by its current CEO, Youri Wentzel, Maarten Berkhout, and Maurits Alberda. 

Its headquarters is now located in Drachten, and the company employs 29 people.

Cyriel Jong, an angel investor at MPower Ventures, joined in late 2021 according to Dealroom.

Berlin-based alcemy, a deeptech startup, has secured $10M (approximately €9.25M) in funding to expand its cement decarbonisation solution. 

This funding follows alcemy’s partnership with Spenner, Germany’s fifth-largest cement manufacturer. Together, they have developed a commercial-grade low-clinker, low-carbon cement mixture, a first for the industry globally.

The round, led by Norrsken VC, aims to advance alcemy’s research and development efforts and facilitate entry into new markets in 2024, including the United States.

Climate investors such as Galvanize Climate Solutions and AENU also contributed to the round, emphasising the strategic importance of decarbonisation solutions in global climate initiatives.

A novel way of making cement and concrete

Founded in 2018 by Leopold Spenner and Dr. Robert Meyer, alcemy aims to transform the concrete and cement industry by digitising and greening its practices.

Using machine learning and control technology, alcemy predicts cement and concrete quality properties. This approach provides real-time insights across the entire value chain, transforming traditional materials into data-driven high-tech products.

alcemy’s solution enhances product quality, reduces production costs, and achieves CO2 reductions of up to 65 per cent.

Co-founder Spenner, says, “We launched alcemy with a bold vision: together with the manufacturers, we want to achieve the decarbonisation of the cement and concrete industry, which is responsible for 5-8 per cent of CO2 emissions worldwide.”

“What we have been able to achieve in commercial settings has only ever been done before in a lab. With this additional nearly $10M in funding and support from Norrsken VC, in addition to our first-round investors, we’re paving the way to a low-carbon construction industry, one project at a time.”

alcemy has expanded its footprint by partnering with TITAN America, a subsidiary of the global leader Titan Group, marking a significant step into the US market. The startup will debut its AI-powered quality control software at a Titan cement plant in Florida.

Fabian Heilemann, founder and CEO of AENU, adds, “Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous materials upon which society is built. At the same time, it’s one of the biggest polluters on the planet. alcemy is in a unique position to immediately enable the production of more sustainable cement and concrete at scale with carbon emissions reduced by up to 30 per cent per ton.”

alcemy leads predictive quality control for cement and concrete in Germany, with its technology operational in one-third of German cement plants and over 40 ready-mix concrete plants.

Brief about the investors supporting alcemy

Stockholm-based Norrsken VC is an early-stage fund focused on impact investing aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its portfolio includes three “impact unicorns” – Einride, Northvolt, and 1KOMMA5°.

Galvanize Climate Solutions, launched by Tom Steyer and Katie Hall in September 2021, is a purpose-driven investment platform focused on accelerating global decarbonisation through strategic investments and partnerships.

AENU is an evergreen impact fund investing across multiple stages in climate-tech and social impact companies in the EU and the US. It focuses on driving systemic change in venture capital by promoting impact, accessibility, and stakeholder alignment.

Cambridge-based Wave Photonics, a deeptech startup, announced that it has secured £4.5M (approximately €5.32M) in a seed round of funding to develop on-chip photonics designs for quantum technologies, sensors, and data centre applications.

The round was led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, with contributions from Redstone QAI Quantum Fund, Kyra Ventures, Parkwalk’s University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund IX (UCEF IX), and Deep Tech Labs. 

The round was complemented by non-dilutive funding from EIC and Innovate UK grants, bringing the company’s total funding to £5.4M.

Dr. Christine Martin, Head of Ventures at Cambridge Enterprise, says, “Cambridge Enterprise Ventures is pleased to follow our initial pre-seed investment and co-lead Wave Photonics’ seed round with UKI2S.”

“Integrated photonics is poised to disrupt high-value industries ranging from quantum computing to bio-sensing, and Wave Photonics’ team and technologies are in a great position to enable and accelerate the adoption of next-generation integrated photonics products.”

Accelerating integrated photonics

Integrated photonics uses scalable semiconductor processes to create light-based circuits for efficient communications, healthcare sensors, diagnostics, optical processors, lidar, and quantum technologies. 

Unlike mature semiconductor chip processes, developing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) from concept to mass production is lengthy and costly. This is where Wave Photonics looks to make a difference.

Wave Photonics has developed and validated its core computational photonics design technology to shorten photonic product development time.

The company aims to unlock valuable photonics markets by transforming the inefficient and fragmented productisation cycle into an integrated and rapid process, similar to modern semiconductor development.

Wave Photonics was founded in 2021 by James Lee and Matthew Anderson, both Cambridge Quantum Photonics PhDs, and Mateusz Kubica, a former VP in quantitative finance with a decade of experience in mathematical and computational modeling.

Capital utilisation

The funds will help Wave Photonics to transition its technology from a research manufacturing line to a commercial foundry, focusing on solutions for frontier applications like quantum technologies and biosensing.

Co-founder &CEO, Lee, says, “The team has spent the past few years building and experimentally validating our design technology – it’s exciting to have the resources to begin deploying it to solve real industry problems.”