NLM advances organic PICs
NLM Photonics has added Pangaea Ventures and Diamond Edge Ventures to its investor base as it scales organic electro-optic materials and hybrid photonic integrated circuits for high-speed optical interconnects.
NLM Photonics has expanded its investor base with investments from Pangaea Ventures and Diamond Edge Ventures, the venture arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, to accelerate the commercialisation of its organic electro-optic (OEO) photonics platform.
The Seattle-based company develops its Selerion family of organic electro-optic materials for integration with silicon photonics. The technology is designed to enable high-bandwidth, lower-power optical interconnects for data centres, AI infrastructure and quantum networking.
The new investment brings additional expertise in advanced materials and semiconductor manufacturing to NLM's ecosystem. Existing investors, including Emerald Technology Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, Idemitsu and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), have also strengthened their investment in the company.
NLM said the funding will support the development of a commercial-scale organic photonics ecosystem and enable multi-foundry production of organic hybrid PICs. The company is targeting applications including high-speed optical transceivers and next-generation data-centre interconnects.
A key focus is the use of organic electro-optic materials to enhance the performance of silicon photonic devices as optical data rates increase. NLM has been developing the technology to address the bandwidth and energy requirements associated with AI and increasingly dense data-centre interconnects.
The company demonstrated what it described as the industry's first 1.6T and 3.2T multi-channel silicon-organic hybrid PICs in 2025. In 2026, NLM began customer sampling of its 1.6T and 3.2T PICs, marking a move from technology demonstrations towards commercial qualification.
The expanded investor base also includes semiconductor materials companies, strengthening NLM's focus on establishing a supply chain capable of supporting volume production. Mitsubishi Chemical's Diamond Edge Ventures provides access to its parent company's materials and manufacturing expertise, while TOK and Idemitsu bring additional semiconductor and advanced-materials experience.
NLM is now working to scale its organic electro-optic platform across manufacturing partners and support commercial deployment of its hybrid PIC technology. The company's progress reflects the growing use of material innovation alongside silicon photonics to increase optical bandwidth while reducing power consumption in high-speed interconnects.
