Photonic computing pioneer Optalysys has announced a £23 million Series A extension round, led by Northern Gritstone, with additional backing from imec.xpand, Lingotto Horizon, and the UK government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF).

The funding will fast-track the commercial rollout of Optalysys’ proprietary photonic chips and support the company’s expansion into the United States.

As AI and cloud workloads surge, traditional electronic computing is nearing its physical limits. Optalysys is addressing this challenge with a radical new architecture that integrates data movement and processing on a single chip. By merging silicon photonics with advanced digital technologies, the company delivers powerful computational performance while significantly reducing the energy demands of conventional digital processing.

Optalysys is developing a programmable, high-density layer tailored to tackle compute-intensive applications, including generative AI and post-quantum algorithms. A key focus is fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) – a transformative technology that enables data to be processed while remaining encrypted, vital for secure enterprise and cloud computing.

Initial versions of FHE technology are already in use within Optalysys’ LightLocker™ Node servers, launched last year – the first dedicated hardware platform designed for encrypted blockchain operations.

Dr Nick New, CEO and Co-Founder of Optalysys, commented:

“We are at a defining moment in the evolution of computing. Photonic computing opens up fundamentally new capabilities, allowing data to be moved and processed with far greater speed and efficiency. This investment validates both the scale of the opportunity ahead and our ability to execute against it. It allows us to expand into new markets and take an important step towards making photonic computing a mainstream part of cloud infrastructure.”

Robert Todd, CTO and Co-Founder, added:

“Recent acquisitions in the semiconductor industry have highlighted the role that photonics can play in addressing the limits of electronic computing, particularly in processing capability and power consumption, resulting from the demands of training and running even larger AI models. 

“Optalysys’ approach uniquely combines data movement and compute within the same package. Expanding to the US is an exciting and natural next step for us, so that we can tap into its strong photonics ecosystem and the immense talent located in Silicon Valley.”

Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said:

“Optalysys is scaling towards global success. The company is building technology for the next generation of computing and has the team, technology and commercial traction that we, as investors, want. We’re excited to support the team as they continue to commercialise their technology and deliver real-world impact across multiple industries.”