Ephos, a Europe-founded producer of glass-based photonic chips, introduced a significant growth of its operations: an €7.6 million seed funding spherical and the opening of a state-of-the-art analysis and manufacturing facility in Milan, the world’s first devoted to producing glass-based quantum photonic circuits. As well as, Ephos has obtained funding from the EU and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA); being chosen as considered one of simply 10 firms out of a pool exceeding 1,300 candidates.
The seed spherical was led by Starlight Ventures, a US enterprise capital agency specializing in deep tech investments, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, 2100 Ventures, and Unruly Capital, amongst others, in addition to angel traders Joe Zadeh (former Vice President at Airbnb), and Diego Piacentini (former Senior Vice President at Amazon).
The funding has accelerated the launch of its new analysis and manufacturing facility positioned within the Milano Innovation District (MIND), considered one of Europe’s most bold know-how hubs, which can function a central hub for R&D, manufacturing, and collaboration. The brand new website marks a big milestone in Ephos’s development and offers the house and sources essential to scale its proprietary chip manufacturing know-how because it expands its partnerships throughout the quantum applied sciences business. Alongside its Milan headquarters and new manufacturing facility, the funding may even go in the direction of working and rising its San Francisco crew.
Setting the corporate other than conventional chip producers utilizing silicon-based applied sciences, Ephos designs and builds glass-based photonic chips. Ephos’s know-how will increase the velocity and vitality effectivity of superior quantum computing, communications, and sensing gadgets. Constructed on glass substrates, Ephos’s chips scale back sign loss, one of many best hurdles to constructing a quantum pc. It is because in quantum computing, data can’t be duplicated or copied and so, above a sure degree of sign loss, creating a brand new sign to switch a misplaced one is not possible.
“Securing this funding and opening our Milan facility is a vital milestone for Ephos. Our glass-based photonic chips are set to rework not simply quantum computing and AI, however the broader computational infrastructure of the long run,” commented Andrea Rocchetto, CEO and co-founder at Ephos. “By addressing vitality inefficiencies and enhancing efficiency throughout industries, from knowledge facilities to safe communications, we’re laying the inspiration for the subsequent technology of computing know-how.”
Photonic applied sciences have a variety of classical purposes past quantum computing, together with inside knowledge facilities the place photonic chips are more and more getting used to scale back hovering vitality footprints. Power calls for have gotten a significant concern because the AI revolution continues to put a pressure on knowledge facilities, with Goldman Sachs estimating that knowledge heart energy utilization will develop 160% by 2030.
With its chips being constructed fully in-house and the corporate’s provide chain relying completely on US and EU suppliers, Ephos’s know-how reinforces Allied safety pursuits, providing a novel geopolitical benefit. By making certain that vital quantum infrastructure is developed inside NATO’s rising tech ecosystem, Ephos helps safeguard strategic independence in quantum applied sciences, a significant space for future protection and communications. As such, along with the seed spherical, on September 10 2024, Ephos obtained €450,000 non-dilutive funding from NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA).
“We see large potential in Ephos’s glass-based photonic chips to revolutionize the way forward for computing,” added Kike Miralles, Principal at Starlight Ventures. “As AI and quantum developments problem the boundaries of our present infrastructure, Ephos stands out with its means to considerably scale back sign loss and enhance vitality effectivity. This innovation not solely meets the rising calls for for sooner, extra environment friendly platforms but in addition opens the door to new potentialities in quantum computing and communication applied sciences throughout a number of industries.”
