What 2D Photonics does

2D Photonics, operating through its wholly-owned subsidiary CamGraPhIC, designs, develops and manufactures next-generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for telecom and datacom applications, with a current focus on AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. Its core technology is Graphene Integrated Photonics (GIP): single-crystal graphene integrated into both modulator and detector elements of an optical transceiver, an approach the company positions as the world's first such high-performance PIC and a replacement for conventional electrical and silicon-photonic interconnects. Headline performance claims include up to 100Gbps per lane transmission speeds, operation across O, C and L wavelength bands for extended WDM, 70-80% lower energy consumption versus traditional pluggable data-centre transceivers, uncooled operation, and process steps compatible with silicon foundry flows. Target applications span AI accelerator optical I/O (GPU-to-HBM), hyperscale data-centre interconnects, 5G/6G mobile networks, avionics/aerospace, automotive ADAS and radiation-tolerant space links.

The company is venture-backed and pre-commercial on the product-sales side, with a Milan-area pilot manufacturing facility scheduled to be operational in 2028. 2D Photonics SpA was formed as the group Topco alongside a €25M Series A in March 2025 (co-led by NATO Innovation Fund, CDP Venture Capital, Sony Innovation Fund and Join Capital, with Bosch Ventures, Frontier IP and Indaco also participating); a €211M Italian state aid package, approved by the European Commission in April 2026, is funding industrialisation and the creation of 150+ skilled jobs. The company originates from a 2018 University of Cambridge spin-out led by Prof. Andrea Ferrari and Marco Romagnoli, operating from headquarters in Monza, R&D in Cambridge and Pisa (a 700 sqm Inphotec facility), and a London contact office. Revenue mechanics expected to combine hardware sales of graphene-based optical transceivers and PICs with licensing of the underlying Cambridge-licensed graphene-photonics IP; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated case-by-case in volume B2B engagements.

Name

2D Photonics

Legal name

2D Photonics SpA

Website

https://2dphotonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

2D Photonics designs and manufactures graphene-integrated photonic integrated circuits and optical transceivers that replace electrical and silicon-photonic interconnects, targeting AI accelerator, HPC, data-centre, telecom, aerospace and automotive customers. The company is pre-revenue, headquartered in Monza with R&D in Cambridge and Pisa, and is building a Milan pilot line (operational 2028) funded by a €25M Series A and €211M Italian state aid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonic Integrated Circuits and Optical Transceivers

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (3344), Electronic Connector Manufacturing (334417)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674), Electronic Connectors (3678)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Transceivers (SFP/SFP+/SFP28/QSFP/QSFP-DD/OSFP) (HDAFAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Optical Transponders & Muxponders (Coherent/Pluggable) (HDAFADAB), Networking & Data Center Silicon (Switch/NIC/DPU/SerDes) (HDAHABAB), Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM), Photodiodes & Discrete Photodetectors (HDAHAHAL), Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)

Keywords

• Graphene photonics
• Optical transceivers
• Photonic integrated circuits
• AI optical interconnects
• Data center photonics

Headquarters

HQ city

Eastbourne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Optical transceiver hardware sales: 2D Photonics designs, develops and manufactures next-generation photonic circuits for telecoms and datacoms. Revenue is generated through the sale of graphene-based optical transceivers and photonic integrated circuits to AI, data center, and telecommunications companies.
2. Licensing of graphene photonics technology: Technology developed under licence from the University of Cambridge. The underlying graphene-photonics technology has applications that may be licensed to other manufacturers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

2D Photonics designs, develops, and manufactures next-generation graphene-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical transceivers for the telecoms and datacoms markets. Its core offering integrates single-crystal graphene into both modulator and detector elements to deliver energy-efficient, high-bandwidth-density optical interconnect solutions targeting AI accelerators, HPC systems, hyperscale data centers, and telecom infrastructure.

Product overview

2D Photonics offers a unified product portfolio centered on Graphene Integrated Photonics (GIP) technology, which enables their flagship graphene-based optical transceivers and Optical I/O solutions. Their CamGraPhIC subsidiary commercializes this technology for AI accelerators, high-performance computing systems, and data centers. The portfolio also includes Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) for telecom and datacom applications. The products work together to provide end-to-end optical interconnect solutions that address bandwidth and power consumption bottlenecks in AI infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CamGraPhIC: Subsidiary developing graphene-based optical interconnect solutions for AI accelerators, HPC systems, and data centers.
• CamGraphic

Products and services

• Graphene-Based Optical Transceivers Energy-efficient optical transceiver devices incorporating graphene modulators and detectors, designed to replace conventional electrical and silicon photonic interconnects in AI GPU-to-HBM links, HPC systems, and 5G/6G networks.
• Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) Next-generation photonic circuits leveraging graphene-enabled technologies to deliver ultra-high-bandwidth, low-power optical interconnects for telecoms, datacom, and HPC applications.
• Graphene-Based Optical I/O Technology Graphene-based optical input/output technology that replaces conventional electrical and silicon photonic interconnects to address bandwidth and power consumption bottlenecks in AI systems; designed for integration into accelerators and computing platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70-80% reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional pluggable data center optical transceivers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.

• FPT SemiconductorstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2025On September 3, 2025, during the visit of Italy's Deputy Minister for Enterprises to Hanoi, 2D Photonics co-founders met with FPT Semiconductor to explore strategic collaborations and technology transfer initiatives. The meeting focused on bridging European technological expertise with Vietnam's growing semiconductor industry. 2D Photonics representatives were Prof. Andrea Ferrari and Dr. Marco Romagnoli.
• University of CambridgecoreTechnology or IntegrationCamGraPhIC was founded as a spin-out from the University of Cambridge. The graphene-photonics technology is developed under licence from the University of Cambridge. Prof. Andrea Ferrari, Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre, is co-founder and Scientific Advisor.
• CNIT (Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni)coreTechnology or IntegrationMarco Romagnoli was Head of Research Sector at CNIT in Pisa, leading pioneering efforts in graphene photonics since 2012. CNIT is the National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications in Italy.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ayar Labs: Ayar Labs develops in-package optical I/O chiplets and multi-wavelength laser sources for AI accelerators and HPC, directly competing with 2D Photonics' optical interconnect-for-AI thesis using a silicon photonics-based (rather than graphene) approach.
• Celestial AI: Celestial AI builds a 'Photonic Fabric' optical interconnect platform for AI/ML workloads, pursuing the same GPU-to-memory and accelerator-to-accelerator optical links that 2D Photonics targets.
• Lightmatter: Lightmatter develops photonic compute and interconnect products (e.g., Passage, Envise) for AI data centres, overlapping with 2D Photonics on the optical-interconnect-for-AI thesis with a more compute-centric product focus.

Emerging players

• Xscape Photonics: Xscape Photonics builds multi-wavelength, on-chip photonic interconnect solutions for AI/HPC, addressing the same GPU-to-accelerator and rack-scale bandwidth bottlenecks as 2D Photonics.
• Salience Labs: Salience Labs is developing silicon photonics-based AI inference accelerators with photonic interconnects, intersecting with 2D Photonics on the intersection of photonics and AI compute infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Intel Silicon Photonics: Intel's Silicon Photonics division ships integrated optical transceivers and is leveraging foundry-compatible silicon photonics process flows for AI/datacom links — the most direct incumbent benchmark on manufacturability for 2D Photonics.
• Cisco (Acacia Communications): Acacia (now part of Cisco) is a leading supplier of coherent optical transceivers for data centre interconnect and telecom, representing a broad incumbent competitor in the pluggable optics roadmap.
• Marvell (Inphi): Marvell's Inphi business supplies high-speed optical DSPs and transceivers for cloud and AI networking, the closest large-scale incumbent in pluggable coherent/pAM optical modules.
• Lumentum: Lumentum designs and manufactures lasers, photonic components and optical modules for telecom and datacom, overlapping with 2D Photonics across telecom infrastructure and emerging AI interconnect applications.
• Coherent Corp: Coherent Corp offers a broad portfolio of optical communications components including transceivers and photonic integrated circuits, competing with 2D Photonics across telecom/datacom and increasingly AI infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2d-photonics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 2D Photonics