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§ Private Profile · Santa Clara, CA, USA
OpenLight Photonics is a technology company.
OpenLight Photonics designs and manufactures custom Photonic Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (PASICs) via its open silicon photonics platform. This unique technology integrates active and passive photonic components, including lasers, directly onto a single chip. This approach delivers enhanced performance, superior power efficiency, and improved reliability for optical communication and sensing applications.
OpenLight was established in 2022 as an independent company, with investments from Synopsys and Juniper Networks. Its foundational technology originated from Aurrion, initially developed at UC Santa Barbara, later acquired by Juniper Networks in 2016. This spin-out aimed to expedite the commercialization of its integrated silicon photonics solutions.
OpenLight's integrated photonic solutions primarily serve high-growth markets such as AI data centers, telecommunications, datacom, and high-performance computing. The company envisions enabling the next generation of optical connectivity and advanced sensing. It aims to broaden the application of its integrated laser technology to address demand for faster, more efficient photonic systems.
OpenLight Photonics has raised $34.0M across 1 funding round.
OpenLight Photonics has raised $34.0M in total across 1 funding round.
OpenLight Photonics has raised $34.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $34.0M Series A in July 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2025 | $34M Series A | Dipender Saluja, Phil Inagaki | Anzu Partners, LAM Research Capital, Lunar Ventures, Juniper Networks, K2 Access Fund, Mayfield, NEW Legacy | Announced |
OpenLight Photonics has raised $34.0M in total across 1 funding round.
OpenLight Photonics's investors include Dipender Saluja, Phil Inagaki, Anzu Partners, Lam Research Capital, Lunar Ventures, Juniper Networks, K2 Access Fund, Mayfield, New Legacy.
OpenLight Photonics is a technology company specializing in an open silicon photonics platform with integrated lasers, enabling high-performance, power-efficient, and reliable photonic application-specific integrated circuits (PASICs). It serves sectors including datacom, telecom, LiDAR, healthcare, high-performance computing (HPC), AI, and optical computing by providing design enablement tools, custom chip design, and manufacturing services that integrate passive and active photonic elements on silicon[1][3].
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Synopsys and Juniper Networks, OpenLight became an independent company in 2025 after closing a $34 million Series A funding round. This independence allows it to accelerate product development, scale manufacturing, and build a photonic ecosystem for next-generation high-speed data communications. The company’s leadership includes experts with deep experience in silicon photonics and startup scaling[2][4][6].
OpenLight is positioned at the forefront of the shift from electrical to optical interconnects, a critical trend driven by the explosive growth of AI workloads and data center demands. Integrated photonics is becoming essential for faster, more energy-efficient data movement in AI-scale data centers, telecom networks, and emerging fields like LiDAR and quantum computing. The timing is crucial as the industry moves toward scalable, cost-effective photonic integration to overcome the limitations of traditional electronics[4][5].
By enabling open, customizable PASIC designs and scalable manufacturing, OpenLight is helping to democratize photonic integration, accelerating innovation and adoption across multiple high-growth sectors. Their technology addresses key market forces such as the need for higher bandwidth, lower power consumption, and integration density in optical communications[1][4].
OpenLight’s immediate future involves ramping up volume production of its 1.6 Tbps reference photonic integrated circuits and expanding its PDK library with advanced components. As optical interconnects become mainstream in data centers and telecom infrastructure, OpenLight is well-positioned to capitalize on this growth by offering scalable, integrated photonic solutions.
Trends shaping their journey include the increasing demand for AI-driven data processing, the expansion of optical networking beyond data centers into automotive and healthcare sensing, and the broader adoption of heterogeneous integration technologies. OpenLight’s influence is likely to grow as it enables a wider ecosystem of designers and manufacturers to develop next-generation photonic devices, potentially becoming a cornerstone in the optical communications revolution[4][5].
In summary, OpenLight Photonics stands out by making silicon photonics accessible and scalable through integrated laser technology, open design platforms, and strong manufacturing partnerships, aligning perfectly with the accelerating global demand for high-speed, energy-efficient optical communication systems.