HyperLight Corporation, a leading supplier of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs), announced today that it has completed a $37 million Series B financing round led by Summit Partners. The round also included participation from existing investors Xora Innovation (a deep tech venture fund backed by Temasek) and Foothill Ventures. Peter Chung, Managing Director and CEO of Summit Partners, will join HyperLight’s board of directors. With the development of artificial intelligence, there is a growing demand for greater bandwidth and greater energy efficiency, which is driving the industry's transformation to next-generation photonic technologies. Current PICs have become a bottleneck for high-performance optical communications due to the performance limitations of their material properties. HyperLight's TFLN PICs provide unmatched bandwidth and power efficiency that are well aligned with the current and future needs of AI/data center infrastructure, telco optical networks, and high-performance computing. Since its inception in 2018, HyperLight has delivered industrial-scale TFLN PICs with a trusted supply chain. This new financing will enable the company to accelerate product development and meet rapidly growing customer demand.
Figure: HyperLight receives financing to promote the development of photonic integrated circuits
"We believe that TFLN will be the platform for photonics in the future and that HyperLight is an emerging industry leader," said Peter Chung of Summit Partners. The HyperLight team has built an impressive track record of innovation and execution. In a short period of time, the company has developed this key technology into a market-ready product with a production-ready supply chain. We look forward to supporting the HyperLight team and working alongside the company's existing investors as they pursue their vision of building a category-defining company in the photonics space."
"We are pleased to welcome Summit Partners as a new investor, given their capabilities and deep experience in the photonics space, including investments in E-TEK Dynamics, Finisar, MACOM and Acacia Communications," said Mian Zhang, President and CEO of HyperLight Corporation. This funding round, supported by investors with exemplary experience in the photonics industry, will strengthen our ability to serve as a trusted innovation partner to meet our customers' current and future needs." We are ready to provide the industry with high-speed, energy-efficient photonic integrated circuit solutions to enable the networks of the future.”
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm focused on growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests in growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 550 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit's notable investments in communications technology include Acacia Communications, Arista Networks, Ditech Networks, E-TEK Dynamics, Finisar, Hittite Microwave, MACOM, PowerWave Technologies, Sirenza Microdevices and Ubiquiti. Summit has offices in both North America and Europe and seeks to invest in leading, profitable growth companies around the world.
