What ICON Photonics does

ICON Photonics SAS is a French deep-tech company incorporated in 2018 that designs and manufactures custom fiber-to-chip optical interconnect solutions based on proprietary 3D polymer micro-structures. The company's core technology centers on patented Spot-Size Converters (SSC) and Fiber Array Units (FAU/FAU-SSC) that achieve minimum insertion losses of 0.1 dB for on-chip micro-optics and ~1 dB for edge coupling, with operating-temperature compatibility from 10 mK (cryogenic) to 350 °C. Manufacturing is performed at wafer level across 2- to 6-inch substrates, with stated capacity exceeding 100 wafers per year, enabling scale-up to co-packaged optics (CPO) and high-volume transceiver production.

The product portfolio addresses three primary use cases: Co-Packaged Optics / data-center interconnects for AI infrastructure and 5G; cryogenic-compatible quantum photonics for computing, metrology, and sensing; and free-space beam-shaping for LiDAR and 3D sensing. ICON follows a direct enterprise field-sales motion, running custom B2B engagements through concept, prototyping, and mass-production phases, augmented by engineering services and study/design work. Go-to-market relies on attendance at major photonics exhibitions (ECOC, SPIE Photonics West, OFC, CIOE, Laser World of Photonics, PIC International) plus referrals from European photonics clusters (EPIC, SYSTEMATIC, OPTICA, Photonics France).

ICON is privately held and structured as a SAS under French law, with headquarters in Champs-sur-Marne. It is led by co-founders Carlos Viana, PhD (CEO) and Jean-Luc Polleux, PhD (CTO, formerly a professor at ESIEE Paris), with Charles Goëller as COO, and is advised by senior photonics-industry veterans including a former CEO of u2t Photonics and a former GM of Finisar Germany. The company reports no public revenue, runs a team of 1-10 employees, and has been recognized by the i-Lab Grand Prize (2020), France Relance (2020), and the Challenges Top 100 French Startups Where to Invest (2022).

Name

ICON Photonics

Legal name

ICON Photonics SAS

Website

https://icon-photonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICON Photonics SAS designs and manufactures patented 3D polymer micro-structures — spot-size converters and fiber array units — that enable low-loss fiber-to-chip optical coupling for co-packaged optics, quantum photonics, and LiDAR/3D sensing customers. Founded in 2018 as a French deep-tech spin-out from CNRS/ESIEE Paris, it sells custom B2B solutions globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonics interconnect components

NAICS

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

SIC

Electronic Connectors (3678), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber-Optic Interconnects (Connectors/Cables/Transceivers Interfaces) (HDAHAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM), Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs) (HDAHAAAH), QPU Packaging, Interconnects & Chiplets (Quantum Processor Integration) (HDAGAAAJ)

Keywords

• Fiber-to-chip coupling
• Spot-size converters
• Photonic integrated circuits
• Co-packaged optics
• Photonics microstructures

Headquarters

HQ city

Champs-sur-marne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Fiber-to-Chip Coupling Solutions: Design, prototyping, and manufacturing of custom microstructures for fiber-to-chip coupling. Revenue generated through product development cycles from concept through mass production, including FAU (Fiber Array Unit) sales.
2. Engineering Services: Study & design services, fast prototyping with small series sampling, and performance validation. Technical consulting for custom coupling solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ICON Photonics designs, prototypes, and manufactures custom fiber-to-chip interconnect solutions based on patented 3D polymer microstructures, including spot-size converters (SSC), on-chip micro-optics, surface coupling structures, and Fiber Array Units with integrated SSC (FAU-SSC). Deliverables are sold as custom microstructures and FAU products to enterprise customers in co-packaged optics, quantum photonics, and free-space/LiDAR applications, supported by study, design, prototyping, and high-volume wafer-level manufacturing.

Product overview

ICON Photonics offers a portfolio of fiber-to-chip interconnect solutions centered on patented 3D polymer microstructures. Their core product family includes On-chip Micro-optics (spot-size converters with 0.1dB minimum losses), Surface Coupling (wafer-level fiber holder deposition), Edge Coupling via FAU-SSC technology (1dB losses), and Advanced Solutions (freespace coupling, 90° light-turns, detachability). They provide Compact Fiber Array Units for customer self-alignment. The company serves three primary markets: Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) for AI/datacenter applications, Quantum Photonics with cryogenic-compatible solutions, and Freespace applications (LiDAR, 3D Sensing). Their development pathway spans from concept through proof-of-concept, prototyping, fabrication, to high-volume manufacturing (HVM) with capacity exceeding 100 wafers per year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• On-chip Micro-optics Custom patented 3D polymer micro-structures deposited at chip or wafer-level that integrate optics directly into photonic chips, achieving 0.1 dB minimum coupling losses and cryogenic-to-reflow (10 mK to 350 °C) compatibility, for PIC designers and system integrators needing low-loss on-chip coupling.
• Surface Coupling Wafer-level fiber holder structures that enable chips to be delivered pre-packaged with fiber arrays already in place, compatible with photodiodes, VCSELs, grating couplers, and single-photon detectors, for photonic integrated circuit manufacturers and module integrators.
• Edge Coupling (FAU-SSC) High-precision Fiber-Array-Units with patented Spot-Size-Converter technology (FAU-SSC) that align and fix on chip facets to deliver edge coupling with very low losses (1 dB), for PIC manufacturers and edge-emitting laser integrators.
• Advanced Solutions Bundle of advanced coupling configurations comprising freespace beam-shaping for dense LEDs and VCSELs, 90° light-turn structures for switching from vertical to edge coupling, and plug-and-play detachability solutions under development for CPO. Targets photonic system designers needing specialized beam routing and modular connectivity.
• Compact FAU (Fiber Array Units) Customized and compact Fiber Array Units that allow customers to perform their own alignments, with configurable pitch, channel count, thickness, fiber type, and connectors, for photonics integrators needing ready-to-use fiber array hardware.
• Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) Solutions Optical interconnect solutions packaged for co-packaged optics deployments in data centers, 5G networks, and high-performance computing, integrating optical transceivers with semiconductor chips to reduce power loss and latency, for CPO integrators and hyperscale data center suppliers.
• Quantum Photonics Solutions Cryogenic-compatible fiber-to-chip coupling solutions for quantum photonics applications such as metrology, HPC, and secured communications, produced at wafer level for photon-counting precision, for quantum hardware R&D teams and system builders.
• Freespace: LiDAR & 3D Sensing Solutions Free-space beam-shaping solutions using integrated optics structures for LiDAR and 3D sensing applications in automotive, robotics, navigation, and mapping, for LiDAR module manufacturers and 3D sensor OEMs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 0.1dB minimum coupling losses for on-chip micro-optics
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EPIC (European Photonics Industry Cluster)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018ICON Photonics is a member of EPIC, the European Photonics Industry Cluster, providing industry visibility, networking opportunities, and collaborative partnerships within the photonics ecosystem.
• SYSTEMATIC Paris RegioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Member of the Deep Tech Paris Region cluster, providing access to innovation networks and collaborative opportunities in the Paris tech ecosystem.
• OPTICAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Member of OPTICA (formerly OSA), the optical society providing access to scientific community and industry standards in optics and photonics.
• Photonics FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Member of Photonics France, the national photonics industry association for France.
• Incubateur DescartescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Business incubator providing startup support and development resources, located in the Paris region.
• IGEUminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Technology transfer and intellectual property partner supporting innovation development.
• ErganeominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Research and technology transfer organization supporting development of innovations from research labs.
• FOREISminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partner organization supporting technology development and commercialization.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lumentum: Lumentum is a large diversified photonic components and optical networking modules supplier serving datacom, telecom, and 3D sensing. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the photonics components ecosystem in which ICON's fiber-to-chip coupling products must integrate.
• Coherent Corp: Coherent (formerly II-VI) is a large photonics and compound semiconductor manufacturer producing lasers, optical components, and datacom transceivers. Comparable as a broad incumbent spanning the photonics supply chain where ICON competes for fiber-coupled optical engine content.
• NeoPhotonics (acquired by Lumentum): NeoPhotonics was a specialist in silicon photonics and high-speed coherent optical components for data center and telecom networks. Its silicon photonics integration and transceiver focus directly maps to ICON's fiber-to-chip coupling customer base.

Regional players

• TeraXion: TeraXion designs and manufactures photonic components, including fiber Bragg gratings and integrated optical modules for telecom, datacom, and sensing. It is a comparable photonics components specialist serving similar fiber-coupled photonic integrated circuit use cases.

Direct peers

• POET Technologies: POET Technologies develops the POET Optical Interposer platform for photonic integrated circuits and optical engine assembly. Both companies target co-packaged optics and high-density fiber-to-chip interconnects using novel wafer-level and chip-level packaging approaches.
• Ranovus: Ranovus builds CPO platforms and optical interconnects for hyperscale data centers, combining silicon photonics with laser integration. Its focus on multi-wavelength CPO solutions directly overlaps ICON's surface coupling and CPO detachability roadmap.

Emerging players

• Innolume: Innolume develops quantum dot laser diodes and photonic components for datacom, 3D sensing, and quantum applications. It is comparable as an adjacent specialist supplying semiconductor light sources that integrate with ICON's spot-size converter and FAU products.
• Dust Photonics: Dust Photonics develops pluggable optical transceivers and CPO modules using silicon photonics for data centers. Both ICON and Dust operate in the CPO/AI infrastructure value chain with fiber-to-chip coupling expertise.
• Sicoya: Sicoya manufactures silicon photonics-based optical transceivers for data centers and AI/ML applications. Its silicon photonics chip-level integration approach parallels ICON's wafer-level coupling and packaging focus for datacom and CPO.
• EFFECT Photonics: EFFECT Photonics builds highly integrated optical systems-on-chip for next-generation data center and 5G networks. Like ICON Photonics, it operates in the silicon photonics and integrated photonics ecosystem targeting fiber-to-chip interfaces for high-speed optical interconnects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icon-photonics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 ICON Photonics