What Light Conversion does

Light Conversion is a Lithuanian ultrafast laser manufacturer, headquartered in Vilnius, that designs and produces femtosecond and picosecond laser systems based on Yb-doped fiber and thin-disk architectures for industrial and scientific customers globally. Its product portfolio is anchored by three core femtosecond laser platforms — CARBIDE (industrial-grade, 24/7 reliability), PHAROS (high-energy scientific), and FLINT (high repetition rate) — which serve as pump sources for an extensive family of optical parametric amplifiers (ORPHEUS, ORPHEUS-HE, ORPHEUS-NEO, I-OPA, and the TOPAS series for Ti:Sapphire lasers). Supporting systems include HARPIA ultrafast transient absorption and transient grating spectrometers, and CRONUS femtosecond sources for multiphoton microscopy. The company supplies approximately 95% of the global OPA market and reports over 2,000 TOPAS units installed across more than 80 countries, with products cited in thousands of peer-reviewed publications.

The company monetizes primarily through direct enterprise hardware sales of complete laser systems and add-on modules, priced via a request-for-quote model with multi-year contracts typical of scientific capital equipment. Its go-to-market is a hybrid of self-service technical content marketing (a searchable publication database, datasheets, and the Optics ToolBox interactive calculators) combined with direct enterprise sales engagement, supported by active participation in international photonics conferences. The customer base spans industrial manufacturers (semiconductor packaging via TGV fabrication, automotive, medical devices, electronics) and scientific research institutions, with named logos including UCLA, Stanford, Max Planck Institute, Université de Montréal, and University of York.

Light Conversion operates as LIGHT CONVERSION, UAB, a privately held Lithuanian limited company with 251-500 employees. The company completed the acquisition of Class 5 Photonics GmbH in October 2025 to broaden its ultrafast laser portfolio, appointed Allan Ashmead to its board in 2025, and received the EPIC CEO Award (CEO Martynas Barkauskas) and the 2025 Laser Focus World Innovators Award. The broader ultrafast laser market is valued at approximately $2.85 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $11.6 billion by 2033 at a 16.91% CAGR, providing a structurally favorable growth backdrop.

Name

Light Conversion

Legal name

LIGHT CONVERSION, UAB

Website

https://lightcon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Light Conversion is a Lithuanian ultrafast laser manufacturer that designs femtosecond laser systems, optical parametric amplifiers, and spectroscopy instruments for industrial manufacturers and scientific research institutions across more than 80 countries, holding approximately 95% of the global OPA market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ultrafast Laser Systems

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs) (HDAHAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL) (HDAHALAL)

Keywords

• Femtosecond lasers
• Optical parametric amplifiers
• Ultrafast spectroscopy
• Laser micromachining
• Photonics manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vilnius

HQ country

Lithuania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Laser System Sales: Direct sales of femtosecond lasers, optical parametric amplifiers, spectroscopy systems, and microscopy sources to industrial and scientific customers. Products are sold as complete systems with various configurations and power levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Light Conversion manufactures and sells ultrafast femtosecond laser systems and wavelength-tunable optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) for industrial and scientific applications. The product portfolio includes femtosecond lasers (CARBIDE, PHAROS, FLINT), OPA product lines (ORPHEUS, I-OPA, TOPAS series), OPCPA systems, ultrafast spectroscopy systems (HARPIA), and microscopy laser sources (CRONUS). Products are sold as complete turnkey systems to industrial manufacturers, research institutions, and semiconductor companies in over 80 countries.

Product overview

Light Conversion is a leading ultrafast laser manufacturer providing a comprehensive portfolio of femtosecond laser systems and wavelength-tunable sources to companies worldwide. The product architecture centers on core laser platforms (CARBIDE for industrial applications, PHAROS for high-energy scientific use, and FLINT for high repetition rate applications) that serve as pump sources for optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs). The OPA family includes multiple series: ORPHEUS (standard), ORPHEUS-HE (high-energy up to 5 mJ), ORPHEUS-NEO (next-gen with diagnostics), I-OPA (industrial-grade sealed design), and TOPAS variants for Ti:Sapphire lasers. Supporting systems include HARPIA spectroscopy platforms (TA for transient absorption, TG for transient grating) and CRONUS microscopy sources. The company dominates the OPA market, supplying approximately 95% of global demand, and serves industrial and scientific applications across ultrafast spectroscopy, nonlinear microscopy, and micromachining.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CARBIDE: Femtosecond lasers for industry and science
• PHAROS
• FLINT
• ORPHEUS
• HARPIA
• CRONUS
• TOPAS
• Optics ToolBox

Products and services

• CARBIDE Femtosecond Lasers Industrial-grade femtosecond laser systems delivering reliable 24/7 performance for industrial and scientific applications. Optimized for industrial use cases including micromachining, drilling, and surface structuring.
• PHAROS Femtosecond Lasers High-energy femtosecond laser systems offering versatility for scientific research applications requiring higher pulse energies.
• FLINT High Repetition Rate Lasers High repetition rate femtosecond lasers optimized for applications requiring rapid pulse delivery and high-speed processing.
• ORPHEUS Optical Parametric Amplifiers Series of optical parametric amplifiers with continuous tunability from UV to MIR (190-16,000 nm), repetition rates up to 2 MHz, and pump pulse energy up to 0.4 mJ. Includes ORPHEUS, ORPHEUS-F, and ORPHEUS-ONE variants for ultrafast spectroscopy, nonlinear microscopy, and microstructuring.
• ORPHEUS-HE High-Energy Optical Parametric Amplifier High-energy optical parametric amplifier accepting pump pulse energies up to 5 mJ with continuous tunability from UV to MIR (210-16,000 nm), optimized for demanding ultrafast spectroscopy and nonlinear optics applications.
• I-OPA Industrial-Grade Optical Parametric Amplifier Industrial-grade optical parametric amplifier in a compact single-box design with plug-and-play installation. Only commercial industrial-grade OPA with sealed design for mechanical stability and long-term performance. Includes I-OPA-HP, I-OPA-F, and I-OPA-ONE variants.
• TOPAS-PRIME Optical Parametric Amplifier Collinear optical parametric amplifier for Ti:Sapphire lasers with tuning range 1160-2600 nm, extendable to 189 nm-20 μm. Over 2000 units installed worldwide, dominating the OPA market with conversion efficiency over 25%.
• TOPAS-PRIME-HE High-Energy OPA High-energy optical parametric amplifier for Ti:Sapphire lasers with pump pulse energy 2-60 mJ for high-power applications.
• ORPHEUS-OPCPA System Compact few-cycle CEP-stable optical parametric chirped pulse amplification system.
• OPCPA-HE High-Energy System High-energy optical parametric chirped pulse amplification system for demanding high-power applications.
• HARPIA-TA Transient Absorption Spectrometer Ultrafast transient absorption spectrometer for pump-probe spectroscopy applications in scientific research.
• HARPIA-LIGHT Spectroscopy System Compact spectroscopy system for general ultrafast spectroscopic measurements.
• HARPIA-TG Transient Grating Spectrometer Transient grating spectrometer for advanced four-wave mixing spectroscopy techniques.
• CRONUS-2P Microscopy Laser Source High repetition rate wavelength-tunable femtosecond laser source optimized for two-photon microscopy applications in life sciences research.
• CRONUS-3P Microscopy Laser Source Femtosecond laser source for advanced three-photon and nonlinear microscopy applications requiring ultrashort pulses, optimized for neuroscience and biological imaging.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~95% of global OPA market share
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Class 5 Photonics GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLight Conversion acquired Class 5 Photonics GmbH, strengthening their portfolio of ultrafast laser and optical parametric amplifier technologies for scientific and industrial applications.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ekspla: Lithuanian manufacturer of femtosecond, picosecond, and nanosecond lasers, OPAs, and spectroscopy systems. Direct competitor in ultrafast lasers with overlapping product portfolio and target customer base (research and industrial).
• Amplitude Laser Group: French ultrafast laser manufacturer offering femtosecond Ti:Sapphire and Yb-based lasers (Satsuma, Tangor) for industrial and scientific applications. Direct competitor in the industrial-grade femtosecond laser segment.
• Spectra-Physics (MKS Instruments): Brand of MKS Instruments producing ultrafast Ti:Sapphire lasers, OPAs (TOPAS-prime predecessor lineage), and industrial femtosecond systems. One of Light Conversion's closest historical competitors in the scientific OPA market.
• NKT Photonics: Danish manufacturer of ultrafast fiber lasers, supercontinuum sources, and OPA systems (Origami, aeroPULSE). Direct peer in wavelength-tunable ultrafast sources for scientific and emerging biomedical applications.
• Menlo Systems: German manufacturer of femtosecond fiber lasers, OPCPA systems, and frequency combs. Competes in the high-precision scientific ultrafast laser segment with comparable OEM/enterprise sales model.
• KMLabs (Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories): US-based ultrafast laser company founded by Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, producing Ti:Sapphire systems and OPCPA technology. Directly competes in scientific ultrafast applications and high-energy OPCPA.

Broad incumbents

• Coherent: Large US-based laser and photonics company offering ultrafast lasers (formerly Spectra-Physics Astrella, Mira, and Monaco lines), OPA systems, and industrial micromachining tools. Competes across the same customer use cases but at much larger scale.
• Trumpf (TRUMPF Laser): German industrial laser and machine tool giant offering ultrashort pulse (USP) lasers for industrial micromachining. Broad incumbent serving overlapping industrial customer use cases with much larger portfolio.
• IPG Photonics: Global leader in fiber lasers serving industrial cutting, welding, and emerging ultrafast applications. Broad incumbent competing in industrial micromachining where Light Conversion's CARBIDE and I-OPA also play.

Others

• Class 5 Photonics: German specialist in high-energy OPCPA systems, now a wholly-owned Light Conversion subsidiary. Closely related technology base; included as a peer reference rather than pure competitor post-acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/light_con

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Light Conversion