What New Origin does

New Origin is an independent pure-play photonic chip foundry headquartered in Enschede, Netherlands, focused on manufacturing silicon nitride (SiN) Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). The company is a spin-out of the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute and commercializes more than 30 years of accumulated research in integrated photonics with nitride-based waveguides. Its technology platform exploits SiN's ultra-low optical loss and broad wavelength coverage (visible through short-wave infrared) to serve applications in optical communication, HPC/AI datacom, AR/VR, bio-sensing, quantum computing, LiDAR, and defense. New Origin is constructing dedicated manufacturing facilities at Kennispark Twente targeting 25,000 wafers per year initially and scaling to 50,000 wafers per year on 200mm wafers using LPCVD processing and state-of-the-art photolithography, with first wafer production targeted for end of 2026. The company has additionally secured transfer of imec's proven LPCVD silicon nitride PIC platform to accelerate industrial scaling.

The business model is an open-access foundry: external customers submit their own photonic chip designs and New Origin manufactures the wafers on a fee-for-service basis, eliminating the need for fabless photonic companies to invest in their own production lines. The company targets a global enterprise customer base across six primary use-case segments — AI/Datacom, Consumer, Healthcare, Defense, Quantum, and Autonomous Systems — and emphasizes early-stage customer co-development led by CEO Twan Korthorst. To date, revenue has not commenced; the company is in pre-production facility build-out, funded by a €6M seed round, an additional seed round with regional government participation, more than €20M in support from PhotonDelta, and access to a €380M EU pilot plant allocation alongside its role as the scaling partner in the €50M P4Q European quantum-photonics consortium.

Name

New Origin

Legal name

New Origin B.V.

Website

https://neworigin.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

New Origin is an independent pure-play photonic chip foundry in Enschede, Netherlands, manufacturing silicon nitride PICs on 200mm wafers for global enterprise customers in AI/datacom, quantum, AR/VR, healthcare, and defense applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonic Semiconductor Foundry

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)

Keywords

• Silicon nitride photonic chips
• Photonic chip foundry
• Integrated photonics manufacturing
• 200mm wafer fabrication
• Open-access semiconductor foundry

Headquarters

HQ city

Enschede

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Photonic Chip Manufacturing Services: New Origin generates revenue as an independent pure-play foundry by manufacturing silicon nitride photonic chips for external customers. The company operates as an open-access facility, enabling multiple companies to outsource manufacturing without investing in their own production lines. The model emphasizes undisputed quality, industry-leading short turnaround times at the right cost for a global customer base.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

New Origin is an independent pure-play ChipTech foundry that manufactures silicon nitride (SiN) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chips on 200mm wafers. It provides open-access foundry services to global enterprise customers designing photonic chips for optical communication, AI/datacom, LiDAR, AR/VR, bio-sensing, imaging, and quantum applications. The offering is grounded in 30+ years of silicon nitride photonics research from the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute, targeting 25,000–50,000 wafers of annual capacity.

Product overview

New Origin is an independent pure-play ChipTech Foundry for silicon nitride-based photonics. The company's core offering consists of silicon nitride photonic chips manufactured through their foundry services, supported by a technology platform developed over 30 years of research at the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute. The portfolio includes the Silicon Nitride Photonics Technology Platform (featuring low-loss propagation across visible to near-infrared wavelengths) and Photonic Chip Foundry Services targeting 50,000 wafers per year. The company also participates in the P4Q (Photonics for Quantum) consortium as the scaling partner for silicon nitride and new materials integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Silicon Nitride Photonic Chips Silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits (PICs) manufactured on 200mm wafers, featuring low-loss propagation and handling wavelengths from visible to near-infrared for optical communication, HPC/AI, LiDAR, AR/VR, bio-sensing, imaging, and quantum applications.
• Photonic Chip Foundry Services Independent pure-play foundry service providing 200mm wafer manufacturing of silicon nitride photonic chips for global enterprise customers, with state-of-the-art photolithography and non-CMOS-compatible processes.
• Silicon Nitride Photonics Technology Platform Underlying silicon nitride photonics process platform with ultra-low loss waveguides and a wide wavelength spectrum from visible to short-wave infrared, suitable for bio-sensing, AR/VR, datacom, and quantum applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manufacturing capacity target of 25,000 to 50,000 silicon wafers (200mm) per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ImeccoreTechnology or Integration · 13 March 2026Imec, a Belgium-based world-leading research and innovation organization in advanced semiconductor technologies, is transferring its proven LPCVD silicon nitride PIC platform to New Origin. Imec will help scale manufacturing on 200mm wafers using state-of-the-art photolithography in New Origin's industrial facilities. Together, the organizations will continue developing PIC technology based on silicon nitride and integrate new materials and processes. Philippe Absil, VP IC-Link at imec, noted that silicon nitride photonics can unlock exceptional performance and scalability.
• University of TwentecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Origin is a spin-out from the University of Twente, emerging from the MESA+ Institute's 30+ years of silicon nitride photonics research. University of Twente Holding has been the driving force behind New Origin since inception. The company maintains close collaboration with the university's MESA+ Nanolab for cleanroom facilities and research capabilities.
• PhotonDeltacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhotonDelta is the national ecosystem organization for photonic chip technology in the Netherlands, backed by the National Growth Fund. New Origin has received more than 20 million euros in support from PhotonDelta. PhotonDelta coordinates the €1.1B integrated photonics initiative and includes New Origin in its portfolio of photonic chip companies. Eelko Brinkhof serves as CEO of PhotonDelta.
• LioniX InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLioniX International is a Twente-based photonic chip company that develops prototypes and helps customers worldwide make modules containing photonic chips. The company has been part of the photonic ecosystem in Twente and collaborated with New Origin in forming the business plan. Ronald Dekker from LioniX International is featured discussing the photonic chip cluster development.
• DemconmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDemcon is a high-tech company in Twente that has been involved in forming New Origin's business plan. The company represents the high-tech supplier ecosystem that will benefit from and contribute to the photonic chip manufacturing facility.
• Bronkhorst High-TechmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBronkhorst High-Tech is a Twente-based high-tech company involved in developing New Origin's business plan as part of the ChipTech Twente ecosystem.
• MicronitmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicronit is a Twente-based company involved in developing New Origin's business plan as part of the ChipTech Twente ecosystem, representing the microfluidics and lab-on-chip capabilities complementing photonic technology.
• P4Q Consortium (Photonics for Quantum)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Origin is the scaling partner for silicon nitride and integration of new materials (like TFLN) in the P4Q consortium, a €50 million European program coordinated by University of Twente under the European Chips Joint Undertaking. The program brings together 29 partners from 12 European countries working on mature production processes for integrated photonic chips for quantum applications. Europe is investing €25M with matching funds from national governments.
• Smart PhotonicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmart Photonics is a photonic chip foundry within the PhotonDelta ecosystem, representing the broader photonic industry network in the Netherlands.
• EFFECT PhotonicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFFECT Photonics is an integrated photonics company within the PhotonDelta ecosystem portfolio, representing photonic chip companies in the Netherlands.
• Quix QuantumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuix Quantum is a quantum photonic chip company within the PhotonDelta ecosystem portfolio. The company is also a commercial partner in the P4Q consortium alongside New Origin.
• PHIX Photonics AssemblyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHIX Photonics Assembly is a photonic chip assembly company within the PhotonDelta ecosystem. New Origin participates in events at PHIX facilities including EPIC Technology Meetings on integrated photonics and packaging.
• MESA+ InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MESA+ Research Institute at University of Twente is the foundational research institution behind New Origin. Prof. Guus Rijnders from MESA+ is closely involved in photonic chip investments and sees the pilot plant as an important intermediate step towards New Origin's success.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CompoundTek: CompoundTek is a Singapore-based silicon photonics foundry offering commercial MPW and volume production services. It is comparable as a merchant silicon photonics foundry serving fabless designers globally, though silicon-based rather than SiN.
• SMART Photonics: SMART Photonics is an independent pure-play InP (indium phosphide) photonic chip foundry also based in the Netherlands and a PhotonDelta portfolio company. It is the closest direct comparable as the only other independent pure-play photonic foundry in the region, though serving InP rather than SiN.
• LioniX International: LioniX International is a Twente-based silicon nitride photonic chip company that develops prototypes and modules. It is comparable as a SiN photonics specialist in the same regional ecosystem, though focused on module integration rather than foundry services.
• VLC Photonics: VLC Photonics is a Spain-based photonic integrated circuit design and foundry services company. It is comparable as an independent merchant provider of photonic chip services targeting fabless designers, with a smaller scale than New Origin's planned capacity.

Regional players

• EFFECT Photonics: EFFECT Photonics is a Dutch PhotonDelta portfolio company developing integrated photonic transceivers. It is comparable as a Netherlands-based PhotonDelta photonic chip company, though a fabless designer rather than a foundry and serves the datacom market.

Broad incumbents

• AIM Photonics: AIM Photonics is a US-based integrated photonics manufacturing institute offering foundry services for silicon photonics. It is comparable as a publicly-funded photonic foundry targeting scale production, though focused on silicon photonics rather than silicon nitride.
• imec: Imec is a world-leading semiconductor R&D organization that is transferring its SiN platform to New Origin. It is comparable as a broader R&D and pilot-line incumbent in photonic chip process development, with capabilities across multiple photonic platforms.
• GlobalFoundries: GlobalFoundries is a major commercial semiconductor foundry with an established silicon photonics platform (GF Fotonix). It is comparable as a large-scale foundry offering photonic chip manufacturing services, though silicon-photonics-based rather than silicon-nitride.
• Tower Semiconductor: Tower Semiconductor offers RF and silicon photonic foundry services through its analog/RF specialty platform. It is comparable as a specialty foundry serving photonics-adjacent markets, though broader in scope than New Origin's SiN focus.

Emerging players

• Lightwave Logic: Lightwave Logic is a US-based company developing electro-optic polymer and silicon nitride photonic materials for high-performance applications. It is comparable as an emerging player in advanced photonic materials with potential overlap in SiN-based PIC applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-origin-chiptechfoundry

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 New Origin