OpenLight Raises $34M Series A to Scale Next-Gen Integrated Photonics for AI Data Centers
- Series A co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn marks OpenLight's transition from a Synopsys subsidiary to a high-velocity, venture-backed company
- Covered by more than 360 patents, OpenLight's PDK gives customers access to a library of passive and active components
- Foundry-validated PDK accelerates time-to-market and enables scaled manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenLight, a leader in custom Photonic Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (PASIC) chip design and manufacturing based on heterogeneous integration, today announced the close of its oversubscribed $34M Series A. The round is co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group. Other participants include Mayfield; Juniper Networks, now part of HPE; Lam Capital, the corporate venture arm of Lam Research Corporation; New Legacy Ventures; and K2 Access.
This round of financing completes OpenLight's transition from a Synopsys subsidiary to a high-velocity, venture-backed company positioned to address the growing demand for faster and more energy-efficient data movement in AI data center networks. As the shift from electrical to optical interconnects accelerates to support AI-scale workloads, integrated photonics is emerging as a core enabler of next-generation data center infrastructure. Additional applications for OpenLight's technology include telecom, automotive and industrial sensing, IoT sensing, healthcare and quantum computing.
OpenLight's Process Design Kit (PDK), based on the heterogeneous integration of indium phosphide and silicon photonics, gives customers access to a library of passive and active components covering integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors. This PDK has been validated at the leading photonics foundry, Tower Semiconductor, ensuring designs are production-ready from day one. This enables customers to create custom PASICs using proven building blocks, simplifying advanced chip development and accelerating time-to-market. OpenLight currently holds more than 360 patents covering its PDK and the manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics. The OpenLight PDK is already being used by over 20 companies to design and fabricate PASICs across a wide spectrum of applications.
With the new capital injection, OpenLight will expand its PDK library of active and passive photonics components, including its leading-edge 400Gb/s modulator and indium phosphide heterogeneously integrated on-chip laser technology. OpenLight will also ramp up its standard-based reference PICs at 1.6Tb/s and 3.2Tb/s to provide customers with the most flexible and leading-edge component design library available in the market. In addition, the company will scale its team to support customers as they transition to volume production over the next 12 months.
"As we enter this next phase of our company's growth, we are excited to be adding such strong investors with deep roots and expertise in the semiconductor and photonics industry," said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. "With this strong syndicate of investors, we can push the boundaries of innovation and deliver transformative solutions to our customers. This funding will allow us to scale our operations, deepen our R&D efforts and bring our groundbreaking products to market faster. We believe heterogeneous integrated silicon photonics will transform the way data is processed and transmitted, and we're excited to be at the forefront of this revolution."
"Xora has conviction that the field of photonics is going to see exponential growth in the coming years, and III-V heterogeneous integration is one of the foundational capabilities that will enable this growth," said Phil Inagaki, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Xora. "We see OpenLight not only as a technology leader in this field, but also as a company positioned to quickly scale manufacturing with foundry partners. One of the critical challenges for the photonics industry in the back half of this decade will be achieving scale, and we see OpenLight's PDK as an important part of the solution."
"Optical connectivity in data centers has become critical for next-generation scale-up and scale-out AI architectures. OpenLight's heterogeneous integration delivers on all three axes of performance, reliability and cost, which will enable the explosive growth of optical IO," said Dipender Saluja, Managing Partner at Capricorn's Technology Impact Funds. "With the industry's leading team, open PDKs, strong foundry and customer relationships, OpenLight is best positioned to meet the scale of demand that is needed for next-generation AI hardware."
About OpenLight
OpenLight is the world leader in custom PASIC design. OpenLight's PASIC technology integrates all the components of silicon photonics devices, both active and passive components, into one chip. Our executive and engineering teams deliver the world's first open silicon photonics platform with integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors to improve the performance, power efficiency and reliability of designs for datacom, AI, high-performance computing, telecom, automotive and industrial sensing, IoT sensing, healthcare and quantum computing applications. With over 360 patents, OpenLight is bringing optical solutions to places it has never been before and enabling technologies and innovation that weren't previously possible. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with offices in Silicon Valley. Read more at www.openlightphotonics.com.
About Xora Innovation
Xora provides capital and commitment to exceptional entrepreneurs transforming essential industries and powering the AI revolution. The firm invests across three key sectors: Compute & Communications, Energy and AI in Physical Industries. Xora supports its portfolio companies for the long term through its expertise and by leveraging the extensive network of its anchor LP, Temasek. For more information, visit xora.vc.
About Capricorn's Technology Impact Fund
The Technology Impact Fund (TIF) is a venture capital partnership that invests in companies developing and scaling novel engineering-based solutions to global challenges. TIF's investment process is grounded in comprehensive perspectives on long-term, global trends in technology, transportation, power, storage, efficiency, semiconductors, aerospace, sensors, earth data and analytics. TIF is an early investor in iconic companies including Tesla, Joby Aviation, SpaceX, QuantumScape, Redwood, Planet Labs, Saildrone, Helion, Nuvia, Innovium, and Raxium.
Capricorn Investment Group is an investment firm founded to demonstrate that it is possible to invest profitably while driving sustainable positive change. Capricorn manages about $12B in assets for investors who strive for extraordinary investment results by leveraging market forces to accelerate large scale impact.
Learn more at www.capricornllc.com
About Mayfield
Mayfield partners with founders from day zero who see limitless possibilities where others see constraints. Drawing on our 55-year legacy of company building and people-first philosophy, we bring founder-to-founder expertise because we've built and scaled companies ourselves. We don't just write checks — founders say our unwavering commitment sets us apart. We've celebrated over 120 IPOs and 225+ acquisitions, including breakthrough companies like HashiCorp, Lyft, Mammoth Biosciences, Marketo, Nuvia, Poshmark, ServiceMax and SolarCity. From our Silicon Valley home, with $3 billion in assets under management, Mayfield is more excited than ever to back founders building the AI future where potential knows no bounds. Join us at mayfield.com.
About HPE
HPE (NYSE:HPE) is a leader in essential enterprise technology, bringing together the power of AI, cloud and networking to help organizations achieve more. As pioneers of possibility, our innovation and expertise advance the way people live and work. We empower our customers across industries to optimize operational performance, transform data into foresight and maximize their impact. Unlock your boldest ambitions with HPE. Discover more at www.hpe.com.
About New Legacy Ventures
New Legacy Ventures is the venture arm of New Legacy Group, a multifaceted investment firm spanning direct investments, public equities, wealth advisory and fund allocation. The firm invests across industries and stages, focusing on founders who see uncommon opportunity and pursue it with purpose. For more information, please visit www.newlegacy.com.
About K2 Access
The K2 Access Fund invests in early-stage startups, primarily alongside Tier-1 venture firms, and provides hands-on support with product-market fit, customer acceleration and strategic growth. With a focus on high-growth sectors including AI, cybersecurity, cloud and advanced enterprise technologies, the fund helps startups scale faster, build market traction and position for long-term success.
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