What Hyperlight does

HyperLight Corporation, headquartered at 675 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Delaware-domiciled) and founded in 2018 as a spin-out of Harvard University's Nano-Optics Laboratory, develops thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits for AI/datacom, telecom/DCI, test and measurement, and quantum computing customers. Its core technology is the proprietary TFLN Chiplet™ platform, which combines the superior electro-optic properties of lithium niobate with CMOS-like semiconductor fabrication. The platform uses a chiplet-based architecture that separates a high-speed TFLN photonic engine from the electrical I/O chip, enabling 2.5D and 3D integration, CMOS-level drive voltage via patented engineered electrodes, ultra-low Vπ, and operational bandwidth up to 145 GHz — supporting 448 Gbps-per-lane IMDD links, 260 GBaud coherent telecom, and quantum-grade photonic chips with waveguide losses below 2 dB/m. Product lines include IMDD Tx PICs (DR8 variants), DPIQ Tx PICs (130/200/260 Gbaud), a family of packaged intensity, phase, and IQ modulators up to 145 GHz, plus an IM/IQ Automatic Bias Controller.

HyperLight monetizes through three primary revenue streams: hardware sales of photonic ICs and packaged modulators sold EXW (Incoterms 2010) from its U.S. facility in U.S. Dollars on a quote-only basis with a 60-day materials/workmanship warranty; custom photonic development services covering DfM, DfT, DfR, modeling, layout, dedicated wafer runs, specialized testing, and reliability qualification; and Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) run services providing shared or dedicated reticles, GDS preparation, CAD/DRC checks, wafer processing, singulation, and PCM. All pricing is per-Quote and not publicly disclosed; orders are invoiced and payable in full upon placement. The go-to-market is a sales-led enterprise field motion complemented by ecosystem partnerships: tier-1 foundries (UMC, Wavetek), OSAT/system integration (Jabil), optical module partners (Broadcom, Eoptolink, TFC), and a quantum co-development partner (Xanadu). Named end-customer relationships are concentrated in optical transceivers and quantum computing, while the broader customer base spans hyperscale and enterprise AI data centers, DCI/telecom carriers, test equipment manufacturers, and quantum computing organizations.

Operationally, HyperLight runs an ISO 9001:2015-certified design operation with outsourced manufacturing through tier-1 fabs and OSATs (also certified to ISO 9001/14001/14064/45001), with automated EVT/DVT capable of testing up to 125 GHz and a reliability lab performing HTOL, LTOL, DHS, HAST, HALT, TC, and TST. Production capacity supports millions of TFLN dies annually across 6-inch (Wavetek) and 8-inch (UMC) wafer lines. Leadership is composed of founders including CEO Mian Zhang, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Advisor Marko Loncar, and founder Cheng Wang, alongside Co-founder & Head of Product Christian Reimer and Co-founder & Head of Custom Development Kevin Luke. The company is privately held, has not been acquired or taken public, and closed an $80 million Series C financing round in June 2026 led by MediaTek.

Name

Hyperlight

Legal name

HyperLight Corporation

Website

https://hyperlightcorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HyperLight Corporation produces thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits and packaged modulators for AI/datacom, telecom/DCI, test and measurement, and quantum customers. Its TFLN Chiplet™ platform, manufactured at scale through UMC and Wavetek, delivers 448 Gbps-per-lane optical interconnects with low power consumption.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonic Integrated Circuits

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510), Capacitor, Resistor, Coil, Transformer, and Other Inductor Manufacturing (334416)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM)

Keywords

• Thin-film lithium niobate
• Photonic integrated circuits
• Electro-optic modulators
• AI datacenter interconnects
• Coherent optical transceivers

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales (Photonic ICs & Modulators): Sales of TFLN-based photonic integrated circuits (IMDD Tx PICs, DPIQ Tx PICs) and packaged electro-optic modulators (intensity, phase, and IQ modulators) priced per unit. Products are shipped EXW (Incoterms 2010) from HyperLight's facility in U.S. Dollars with per-Quote pricing. Includes a 60-day warranty on materials/workmanship; experimental/prototype products are sold as-is.
2. Custom Photonic Development Services: Bespoke photonic solution engagements from concept through deployment, including advanced photonic design (DfM, DfT, DfR), custom modeling and layout, dedicated wafer runs, specialized testing, and reliability qualification aligned to unique customer performance requirements.
3. Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Run Services: Fast-turn prototyping service providing customers access to production-grade TFLN fabrication and a component library, with options for shared or dedicated reticles, GDS preparation assistance, CAD/DRC checks, mask submission, wafer processing, singulation, and process control monitoring. Delivered as bare dies or wafers, with options for large die quantities, sub-die dicing, turn-key CAD preparation, and dedicated wafer runs with custom process flow.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HyperLight develops and manufactures thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and packaged electro-optic modulators on its proprietary TFLN Chiplet™ platform. The company sells IMDD transmitter PICs (DR8 variants), dual-polarization IQ transmitter PICs, and packaged intensity/phase/IQ modulators up to 145 GHz bandwidth for AI/datacom, DCI/telecom, test & measurement, and quantum applications. It complements hardware sales with custom photonic development services and shared Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) prototyping runs.

Product overview

HyperLight offers a platform-plus-modules product portfolio centered on its Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) Chiplet Platform. The core TFLN Chiplet Platform is a chiplet-based architecture that separates a high-speed TFLN photonic engine from the electrical I/O chip, enabling advanced 2.5D and 3D integration. On top of this platform, HyperLight delivers three product lines: IMDD Tx PICs (intensity-modulation direct-detection transmitter photonic integrated circuits for AI/datacom), DPIQ Tx PICs (dual-polarization IQ transmitter PICs for coherent optical applications), and Packaged Modulators (a family of intensity, phase, and IQ TFLN modulators plus an IM/IQ Automatic Bias Controller). Beyond products, the company provides Custom Development Services and Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Runs to support prototyping and customer-specific TFLN designs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TFLN Chiplet Platform HyperLight's core thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) on insulator platform using a chiplet-based architecture that separates the high-speed TFLN photonic engine from the electrical I/O chip to enable advanced 2.5D and 3D integration and scaling to 400G-per-lane and beyond. Targeted at customers building AI/datacom, DCI/telecom, test & measurement, and quantum systems.
• IMDD Tx PICs Intensity-Modulation Direct-Detection (IMDD) transmitter photonic integrated circuits built on the TFLN Chiplet Platform, including DR8 variants with differential drive, single-ended drive, and ultra-low-power options for high-speed pluggable optical transceivers in AI and datacom applications.
• DPIQ Tx PICs Dual-Polarization IQ (DPIQ) transmitter photonic integrated circuits built on the TFLN Chiplet Platform for coherent optical applications in DCI, long-haul, metro, and high-capacity data center networks, supporting 130, 200, and 260 Gbaud symbol rates.
• Packaged Modulators (Intensity, Phase, IQ) Rugged and compact packaged electro-optic amplitude, phase, and IQ modulators built on TFLN, featuring up to 145 GHz bandwidth, ultra-low Vπ, low insertion loss, and standard fiber and RF connectors for high-speed optical test, prototyping, and transceiver integration.
• IM/IQ Automatic Bias Controller An automatic bias controller designed to stabilize the operating point of HyperLight's TFLN thermal-phase-shifter-based intensity modulation (IM) and IQ modulators. Sold alongside the packaged modulator family.
• Custom Development Services Bespoke photonic integrated circuit and TFLN device development services tailored to specific customer requirements for AI, datacom, telecom, and quantum applications, covering design, DfM/DfT/DfR, dedicated wafer runs, specialized testing, and reliability qualification.
• Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Runs Shared Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) foundry runs that allow multiple customers to share a single TFLN wafer, providing access to production-grade TFLN fabrication, a comprehensive component library, and full GDS-to-die flow with shared or dedicated reticles for fast-turn prototyping.

Quantifiable outcome

• 448 Gbps per lane and beyond (ultra-high bandwidth)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered transceiver integration partner, module assembly / reference design partner, core manufacturing / system integration partner, flagship / core manufacturing partner, core manufacturing partner, flagship quantum co-development partner and origin / academic lineage.

• Broadcomtransceiver integration partnerTechnology or Integration · 17 March 2026Partner integration of HyperLight's 400G-per-lane TFLN PICs into Broadcom optical transceivers. The partnership is positioned as part of the transition to 400G-per-lane optical interconnects critical for future AI infrastructure.
• Eoptolinktransceiver integration partnerTechnology or Integration · 17 March 2026Partner integration of HyperLight's 400G-per-lane TFLN PICs into Eoptolink optical transceivers as part of the transition to 400G-per-lane optical interconnects for AI infrastructure.
• Suzhou TFC Optical Communication Co., Ltd. (TFC)module assembly / reference design partnerTechnology or Integration · 16 March 2026Engineering and manufacturing support for HyperLight's 1.6T-DR8 optical transceiver demonstration. TFC assembled the reference transceiver leveraging HyperLight's TFLN Chiplet™ Platform, which achieves 20W power consumption — approximately 20% lower than alternative technologies — by using a single TFLN PIC and a single continuous-wave laser. The module was demonstrated live at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles.
• Jabil Inc.core manufacturing / system integration partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2026Collaboration with HyperLight, UMC, and Wavetek to deploy thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonics technology at hyperscale AI data centers, combining HyperLight's photonic technology with UMC/Wavetek's foundry manufacturing and Jabil's high-volume manufacturing and system integration expertise. The partnership aims to enable mass market adoption of energy-efficient TFLN-based optical modules for AI data center interconnects.
• United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC)flagship / core manufacturing partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Strategic manufacturing partnership for high-volume foundry production of HyperLight's TFLN (thin-film lithium niobate) Chiplet™ Platform on both 6-inch and 8-inch wafers. UMC brings its 8-inch production capability to enable manufacturing scale required for AI and cloud infrastructure deployment. The partnership is described as a major inflection point in the commercialization of TFLN photonics, unifying requirements for data center pluggables, coherent datacom/telecom modules, and co-packaged optics.
• Wavetek Microelectronics Corporationcore manufacturing partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026UMC's compound semiconductor subsidiary, partnering with HyperLight and UMC for high-volume foundry production of the TFLN Chiplet™ Platform. Wavetek contributes its existing customer-qualified 6-inch CMOS foundry manufacturing line, complementing UMC's 8-inch capability to enable the performance, reliability, and cost structure required for next-generation optical interconnect systems.
• Xanadu Quantum Technologiesflagship quantum co-development partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 July 2025Joint development of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic chips demonstrating waveguide losses below 2 dB/m and electro-optic switch loss of approximately 20 mdB — one of the lowest loss values ever reported for electro-optic switches in photonic quantum computing. Chips were fabricated in a high-volume semiconductor production facility. Builds on Xanadu's Aurora demonstration and represents a key milestone toward utility-scale photonic quantum computers.
• Harvard University (Nano-Optics Laboratory)origin / academic lineageOthersHyperLight is a Harvard University spin-out (originated from Harvard SEAS Nano-Optics Laboratory) — Cambridge, Massachusetts startup spun out of Harvard in 2018.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lightium: Lightium is a Swiss TFLN photonic integrated circuit producer offering foundry services and PICs. It is a direct TFLN competitor to HyperLight, serving similar AI/datacom and telecom customers and frequently co-cited in TFLN market reports alongside HyperLight.
• Ligentec: Ligentec is a European (Belgium) TFLN foundry offering MPW runs, custom fabrication, and packaged TFLN devices. It directly competes with HyperLight on TFLN photonic IC prototyping and high-volume manufacturing for AI, telecom, and quantum applications.
• SRICO: SRICO is a US-based developer of lithium niobate-based electro-optic modulators and photonic devices. It is identified alongside HyperLight as a key US TFLN modulator manufacturer and competes for similar test & measurement and telecom modulator customers.

Broad incumbents

• Intel (Silicon Photonics): Intel's silicon photonics division ships integrated optical transceivers and PICs for data centers. As a broad incumbent, Intel competes with HyperLight's TFLN platform across datacom and AI interconnect use cases, leveraging much larger scale and an integrated silicon fab.
• Marvell (Inphi): Marvell's Inphi business is the dominant supplier of DSP and silicon-photonics ICs for coherent and PAM4 optical transceivers. It competes broadly with HyperLight by offering integrated transceiver silicon that hyperscalers and module OEMs prefer over discrete PICs.
• Cisco (Acacia): Cisco's Acacia division designs coherent optical interconnect modules and silicon PICs for telecom and DCI. It overlaps with HyperLight's DPIQ Tx PICs and coherent telecom customer base as an established incumbent.
• Lumentum: Lumentum is a broad incumbent photonics player offering InP-based PICs, lasers, and modules for datacom, telecom, and 3D sensing. It competes with HyperLight in datacom/telecom optics and is exploring TFLN-adjacent technologies.
• Coherent Corp (II-VI): Coherent Corp is a broad incumbent in compound-semiconductor and silicon photonics, offering PICs, lasers, and modules across datacom, telecom, and industrial markets. It is a larger-scale competitor and potential acquirer of TFLN-capable suppliers.
• Broadcom: Broadcom is a leading optical transceiver supplier for AI and cloud data centers and is both a HyperLight integration partner and an indirect competitor through its own silicon-photonics transceivers targeting 400G/800G/1.6T.

Emerging players

• Effect Photonics: Effect Photonics is an emerging player offering highly integrated optical system-on-chip solutions (InP-based with embedded DSPs) for 5G, DCI, and metro. It represents the integration-direction competitor to HyperLight's TFLN platform with a different technology stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hyperlight-corporation
• Xx.com/HyperLight_LN

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hyperlight