EFFECT Photonics completes Series-B financing round
EFFECT Photonics b.v. – a spin off from the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) in The Netherlands that develops DWDM optical system-on-chip components using indium phosphide (InP)-based multi-channel photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for mobile networks and data-centers – has completed its series-B funding round, led by Innovation Industries.
The funding round will accelerate the ramp of its tunable SFP production line and the development of future technologies. EFFECT addresses the need for low-cost, wavelength-tunable optical transceivers with industrial temperature specification to be deployed within the next-generation 5G mobile infrastructure. The global market demand for optical transceivers is expected to grow from $6bn in 2017 to $12bn by 2023 (according to Lightcounting).
Fifth-generation wireless communication (5G mobile) should enable interconnectivity with many different devices such as:
– HD-streaming smartphones;
– driverless and intelligence assisted vehicles;
– HD and ‘always on’ security cameras; and
– augmented reality and virtual reality (A/VR).
This in turn will accelerate the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) interconnecting computing devices and machines without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The number of connected devices in 2017 was 20.35 billion (worth over $1bn annually) and is expected to rise to 51.1 billion connected devices by 2023 (according to market research firm Statista).
“We are experiencing now in photonics what we saw in the electronics integration revolution last century. There the birth of the integrated circuit enabled the mass deployment of powerful solutions,” comments EFFECT’s CEO James Regan. “We integrate all of the optical functions into a single chip and combine it with low-cost, non-hermetic packaging and automatic tuning. Thus DWDM, the proven solution for core and metro networks, is now simple, cost-effective and scalable enough for 5G infrastructure rollouts around the world,” he adds.
“This funding also allows us to really push forward with our next-generation technology program to bring even more powerful optical systems to the edges of the network,” says chief technology officer Boudewijn Docter.
“We are delighted to be a part of EFFECT Photonics, who are at the forefront of developing optical transceivers with its photonic integrated circuits targeted at high-growth markets such as 5G and fuelling the adoption of IoT-enabled devices,” comments Nard Sintenie, partner at Innovation Industries.
