ALCYON PHOTONICS
Alcyon Photonics is a Madrid-based company that designs and licenses fabrication-ready silicon photonics IP libraries and provides custom photonic design services. It serves foundries and PIC developers across datacom, telecom, quantum, defense, and healthcare applications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What ALCYON PHOTONICS does
Alcyon Photonics SL is a Madrid-headquartered private semiconductor IP company, founded in 2018, that develops and licenses fabrication-ready photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design libraries for silicon photonics. The company serves semiconductor foundries, fabless photonic system developers, and OEMs building photonic systems across five vertical markets — datacom, telecom, aerospace/defense, quantum computing, and healthcare sensing — addressing an addressable silicon photonics market estimated at USD 2–3 billion in 2025 with projected annual growth of 25%–30% driven by AI data center optical interconnect demand.
The core technology is a portfolio of process-validated photonic building blocks (modulators, detectors, waveguides, and supporting circuitry) qualified against real foundry Process Design Kits for O-band and C+L-band wavelengths. These IP blocks are delivered as simulation and drawing libraries, distributed as protected Black Boxes, and are integrated into EDA design platforms including Luceda Photonics and Ansys. Alcyon's flagship commercial product, a fabrication-ready photonic IP library qualified for Tower Semiconductor's PH18 platform, was launched in March 2026, with additional validated libraries developed in partnership with CompoundTek. The company also offers custom photonic circuit design services that leverage its libraries, foundry PDKs, and application-specific architectures, and has expanded into thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulator IP through a partnership with Swiss foundry CCRAFT SA.
Alcyon operates a hybrid licensing-and-services business model. Photonic IP is offered under free 60-day non-exclusive evaluation licenses and commercial pay-per-use licenses, where customers pay a fee per fabrication authorization (FabCode) of a PIC design. Custom photonic design services are billed as professional engagements. Distribution occurs through three channels: direct enterprise sales via the company website, indirect channel sales through foundry partners (Tower Semiconductor, CompoundTek, PICadvanced) who bundle Alcyon's IP into their PDK offerings, and EDA-platform-embedded distribution via Luceda Photonics. The company has 11–50 employees distributed across Europe, the Americas, and Taiwan, is led by CTO Enrique Frutos, and has raised approximately €4.3 million cumulatively across rounds led by the EIC Fund and BeAble Capital, including a €1.5 million round in early 2025 from CDTI Innovación, BeAble Innvierte KETS Fund, and the EIC Fund.
ALCYON PHOTONICS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ALCYON PHOTONICS
- Legal name
- ALCYON PHOTONICS SL
- Website
- https://alcyonphotonics.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Alcyon Photonics is a Madrid-based company that designs and licenses fabrication-ready silicon photonics IP libraries and provides custom photonic design services. It serves foundries and PIC developers across datacom, telecom, quantum, defense, and healthcare applications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ALCYON PHOTONICS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) IP
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs) (HDAHAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Active Optical Cables (AOC) & Optical Interconnects (HDAFAEAG), Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)
Keywords
Where ALCYON PHOTONICS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Madrid
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
ALCYON PHOTONICS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Photonic IP Library Licensing: Alcyon grants non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licenses to install and use photonic IP libraries. Evaluation licenses are free for testing purposes. Commercial licenses operate on a pay-per-use basis, with fees paid for each fabrication authorization of PIC designs. The license term is 60 calendar days, and each fabrication requires separate authorization.
- Custom Photonic Design Services: Alcyon supports customers with custom photonic design services, leveraging their own libraries, foundry PDKs, or application-specific architectures. Services are adapted to each customer's performance, manufacturing, and scaling requirements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Evaluation License for testing and validation |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Commercial License with pay-per-use fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
ALCYON PHOTONICS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Alcyon Photonics develops and licenses fabrication-ready photonic integrated circuit (PIC) IP libraries that have been validated and qualified in collaboration with foundry partners such as Tower Semiconductor and CompoundTek. The company complements these libraries with custom photonic design, simulation, and layout services. Its solutions target high-speed, low-power silicon photonics applications operating in O-band and C+L-band wavelengths for datacom, telecom, aerospace/defense, quantum, and healthcare use cases.
Product overview
Alcyon Photonics offers a unified platform combining photonic IP libraries and design services. The core product is their Photonic IP Library—a portfolio of validated, fabrication-ready photonic building blocks (simulation and drawing libraries) developed in partnership with leading foundries. This is complemented by Design Services for custom photonic circuit development. The company licenses their IP through Evaluation Licenses (free 60-day terms for testing) and Commercial Licenses (pay-per-use for production), with technical white papers and support documentation as supplementary resources. Their IP is specifically qualified for Tower Semiconductor and CompoundTek foundry processes, and supported in Luceda Photonics' EDA platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Photonic IP Library Comprehensive portfolio of proven photonic building blocks and circuits qualified in collaboration with partner foundries, provided as simulation and drawing libraries that integrate with leading EDA platforms. Licensed on a pay-per-use basis with fees per fabrication authorization (FabCode).
- Custom Photonic Design Services Custom photonic circuit design services leveraging Alcyon's own libraries, foundry PDKs, or application-specific architectures. Adapted to each customer's performance, manufacturing, and scaling requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced development risk and shortened design cycles through validated, production-ready photonic IP libraries
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use ALCYON PHOTONICS
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ALCYON PHOTONICS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature4 records
ALCYON PHOTONICS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, supporting, flagship and core.
- Taiwan Auto Design Co.strategicStrategic partnership to advance Taiwan's silicon photonics ecosystem by providing advanced design tools, photonic IP solutions, and technical expertise to support next-generation integrated photonics development in Taiwan.
- SoficssupportingPartnership with Sofics to support semiconductor companies developing advanced photonic systems. The collaboration combines Sofics' expertise in specialty I/Os and on-chip ESD protection for electrical ICs (EICs) with Alcyon's photonic design capabilities.
- izmo MicrosystemsflagshipStrategic three-way partnership with izmo Microsystems (subsidiary of NSE-listed IZMO Limited) and CCRAFT SA to jointly design, manufacture, and commercialize photonic integrated circuit solutions. The collaboration combines CCRAFT's TFLN chip manufacturing, Alcyon's photonic IP libraries, and Izmo's advanced packaging capabilities in India, creating an integrated photonics value chain across Europe and Asia. The partnership aims to strengthen India's role in the global silicon photonics market serving AI data centers and next-generation communication networks.
- CCRAFT SAflagshipSwiss thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic chip foundry CCRAFT SA partnered with Alcyon Photonics and izmo Microsystems to create an integrated photonics value chain. CCRAFT provides TFLN chip manufacturing capabilities as part of the three-way strategic partnership for designing, producing, and commercializing advanced PIC solutions.
- Luceda PhotonicscoreJoint white paper collaboration with Luceda Photonics demonstrating how combining Alcyon's process-validated design IP with Luceda's advanced variation modeling enables designers to predict and optimize yield before tape-out. Alcyon's photonic IP library is supported in Luceda's EDA platform for streamlined design flows.
- CompoundTekcorePartnership with CompoundTek to accelerate photonic innovation, resulting in a joint whitepaper showcasing a validated, scalable photonic IP library designed to accelerate next-gen PIC development. The collaboration released validated photonic IP designs for CompoundTek's silicon photonics platform.
- PICadvancedsupportingCollaboration agreement with PICadvanced, a leading company specializing in system integration, optoelectronics, electronics, and packaging for transceivers. The partnership aims to advance integrated photonics solutions through combined expertise in photonic design and packaging.
- Tower SemiconductorcoreStrategic collaboration with Tower Semiconductor to accelerate integrated photonics innovation. Alcyon launched a fabrication-ready photonic IP library qualified for Tower Semiconductor customers, developed in full alignment with Tower's PH18 platform and Process Design Kit (PDK). The partnership enables scalable volume manufacturing of silicon photonics solutions.
- Quantum Computing Inc.supportingMemorandum of Understanding for PIC design and manufacturing collaboration ahead of Quantum Computing Inc.'s Q1 2025 quantum photonic chip foundry opening. The partnership involves photonic chip design collaboration targeting quantum computing, AI, defense, and data center applications using thin film lithium niobate electro-optical modulator chips.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ALCYON PHOTONICS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OpenLight: OpenLight is a fabless photonic IP company offering process-aware PIC IP libraries qualified for Tower Semiconductor's PH18 platform. Most direct comparable to Alcyon: same foundry-aligned IP licensing model, similar datacom/telecom focus, same pay-per-design business model.
- Luceda Photonics: Luceda provides photonic IC design software (IPKISS) and integrates Alcyon's libraries into its EDA platform. A direct competitor and partner — they sell design tools while Alcyon sells IP building blocks consumed within those tools, both serving fabless PIC designers globally.
- VPIphotonics: VPIphotonics provides photonic simulation, design, and optimization software used by PIC designers and system integrators. Comparable as a vendor serving the same fabless photonic design community with design tools that compete and complement Alcyon's IP library offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Synopsys (PhoeniX Software / RSoft): Synopsys acquired PhoeniX Software and RSoft, offering photonic IC design platforms, PDKs, and IP libraries. Comparable because it sells photonic design infrastructure to overlapping customers (foundries, fabless PIC designers), but operates as a broad EDA incumbent rather than a dedicated photonic IP company.
- Cadence Design Systems: Cadence offers photonic-electronic co-design tools via its EDA portfolio and partnerships (e.g., PhoeniX-era technology). Comparable as a broad incumbent in photonic design infrastructure, but photonic IP libraries are not its primary focus versus Alcyon's photonic-IP specialization.
- Ansys (Lumerical): Ansys acquired Lumerical, a photonic simulation specialist, and is part of Alcyon's EDA ecosystem. Comparable as an incumbent simulation/design tool provider serving PIC designers, but operates as a broad multi-physics platform rather than a photonic-IP-focused firm.
Emerging players
- EFFECT Photonics: EFFECT Photonics develops highly integrated optical transceivers using its own PIC designs targeting datacom/telecom. Comparable as a deep-tech photonic player serving the same end markets, but vertically integrated into transceivers rather than selling IP libraries as Alcyon does.
- Lightelligence: Lightelligence develops photonic computing and optical interconnect solutions using proprietary silicon photonics technology. Comparable as a fabless photonic-IP-intensive player in the AI/compute interconnect space, but focused on its own products rather than third-party IP licensing.
Regional players
- AIM Photonics: AIM Photonics is a US-based public-private photonic foundry and PDK provider. Comparable because it offers photonic process design kits and IP that compete with Alcyon's library offerings, but primarily serves North American customers and operates a different foundry-vs-IP-layer model.
- Ligentec: Ligentec is a European (Swiss/German) photonic foundry offering low-loss silicon nitride and TFLN processes with associated PDKs. Comparable as a European photonic ecosystem player that ships process design kits — a potential partner or competitor for Alcyon's library business on next-gen material platforms.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ALCYON PHOTONICS social profiles
Digital presenceALCYON PHOTONICS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ALCYON PHOTONICS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
ALCYON PHOTONICS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ALCYON PHOTONICS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ALCYON PHOTONICS
What does ALCYON PHOTONICS do?
Alcyon Photonics develops and licenses fabrication-ready photonic integrated circuit (PIC) IP libraries that have been validated and qualified in collaboration with foundry partners such as Tower Semiconductor and CompoundTek. The company complements these libraries with custom photonic design, simulation, and layout services. Its solutions target high-speed, low-power silicon photonics applications operating in O-band and C+L-band wavelengths for datacom, telecom, aerospace/defense, quantum, and healthcare use cases.
Is ALCYON PHOTONICS a public or private company?
ALCYON PHOTONICS is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was ALCYON PHOTONICS founded?
ALCYON PHOTONICS was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ALCYON PHOTONICS based?
ALCYON PHOTONICS is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does ALCYON PHOTONICS make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Photonic IP Library Licensing is the primary driver. The others are custom Photonic Design Services.
Who are ALCYON PHOTONICS's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OpenLight, Luceda Photonics and VPIphotonics. Broad incumbents are Synopsys (PhoeniX Software / RSoft), Cadence Design Systems and Ansys (Lumerical). Emerging players are EFFECT Photonics and Lightelligence. Regional players are AIM Photonics and Ligentec.
Does ALCYON PHOTONICS have an API?
No public API is recorded for ALCYON PHOTONICS.
What industry is ALCYON PHOTONICS in?
ALCYON PHOTONICS's product category is Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) IP. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAAAH, Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs), with a secondary code of HDAFAEAG, Active Optical Cables (AOC) & Optical Interconnects. Its NAICS code is 334413 and its SIC code is 3674.