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 one in all 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 buyers 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), one in all Europe’s most bold know-how hubs, which is able to function a central hub for R&D, manufacturing, and collaboration. The brand new website marks a major milestone in Ephos’s progress and gives the area and sources essential to scale its proprietary chip manufacturing know-how because it expands its partnerships throughout the quantum applied sciences trade. Alongside its Milan headquarters and new manufacturing facility, the funding will even go in direction of working and rising its San Francisco group.
Setting the corporate aside from conventional chip producers utilizing silicon-based applied sciences, Ephos designs and builds glass-based photonic chips. Ephos’s know-how will increase the pace and power effectivity of superior quantum computing, communications, and sensing gadgets. Constructed on glass substrates, Ephos’s chips cut back sign loss, one of many biggest hurdles to constructing a quantum laptop. It is because in quantum computing, info can’t be duplicated or copied and so, above a sure stage of sign loss, creating a brand new sign to switch a misplaced one is inconceivable.
“Securing this funding and opening our Milan facility is a essential 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 longer term,” commented Andrea Rocchetto, CEO and co-founder at Ephos. “By addressing power inefficiencies and enhancing efficiency throughout industries, from knowledge facilities to safe communications, we’re laying the muse for the following 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 cut back hovering power footprints. Vitality calls for have gotten a significant concern because the AI revolution continues to position a pressure on knowledge facilities, with Goldman Sachs estimating that knowledge middle energy utilization will develop 160% by 2030.
With its chips being constructed completely in-house and the corporate’s provide chain relying solely on US and EU suppliers, Ephos’s know-how reinforces Allied safety pursuits, providing a singular geopolitical benefit. By guaranteeing that essential quantum infrastructure is developed inside NATO’s rising tech ecosystem, Ephos helps safeguard strategic independence in quantum applied sciences, an important 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 great 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 skill to considerably cut back sign loss and enhance power 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.”
