Ephos

Based in Milan, Italy, with additional operations in San Francisco, Ephos designs and manufactures programmable photonic chips built on glass substrates for artificial intelligence data centers and quantum computing systems. The deep-tech startup operates dedicated manufacturing facilities, including its newly established Fab-2 site, to produce ultra-low loss photonic components that improve the efficiency of classical and quantum computational infrastructure. To scale its proprietary manufacturing capabilities, the company recently raised $8.5 million in a seed funding round led by Starlight Ventures, with additional participation from Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, and 2100 Ventures. Ephos also secured strategic backing from NATO and became the first startup awarded a grant under the European Chips Act framework, joining established semiconductor manufacturers like TSMC and Infineon. The enterprise was founded in 2022 by Andrea Rocchetto, Francesco Ceccarelli, Giacomo Corrielli, and Roberto Osellame.