From spin-out to scale-up: OpenLight’s $34M funding

Part 1: Start-up funding

OpenLight Photonics, a Santa Barbara-based start-up specialising in silicon photonics, has raised $34 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round.

The start-up will use the funding to expand production and its photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design staff.

“We’re starting to get customers taking in production mask sets, so it’s about scaling operations and how we handle production,” says OpenLight CEO, Adam Carter (pictured). The start-up needs more PIC designers to work with customers.

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Users embrace OpenLight's silicon photonics platform

OpenLight, the open silicon photonics platform provider, can point to a successful 2024 signing up new customers. 

In 2023, OpenLight had three customers bringing photonic integrated circuit (PIC) designs to market. OpenLight has since added 14 more.  

OpenLight was formed in 2022 when Juniper Networks carved out its silicon photonics arm. Synopsys acquired a three-quarters stake in OpenLight, while Juniper retained a quarter.

“In the past, the company hadn’t really done any revenue, including when they were in Juniper,” says Adam Carter, OpenLight’s CEO (pictured). “We’ve seen a ten times increase and shown that we can be very profitable.”

The start-up has been creating industry partnerships to better serve its customers' circuit design, chip manufacturing, and packaging needs.

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Nokia buys Elenion for its expertise and partnerships

Nokia will become the latest systems vendor to bolster its silicon photonics expertise with the acquisition of Elenion Technologies. 

The deal for Elenion, a privately-held company, is expected to be completed this quarter, subject to regulatory approval. No fee has been disclosed.

Kyle Hollasch

“If you look at the vertically-integrated [systems] vendors, they captured the lion’s share of the optical coherent marketplace,” says Kyle Hollasch, director of optical networking product marketing at Nokia. “But the coherent marketplace is shifting to pluggables and it is shifting to more integration; we can’t afford to be left behind.”   

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