CCRAFT
CCRAFT is a Swiss TFLN photonic chip foundry spun out of CSEM in 2025 that manufactures thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits for AI data centers, telecom, quantum, aerospace, and sensing customers, offering MPW prototyping through high-volume manufacturing on a 150mm wafer line.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersNeuchâtel, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What CCRAFT does
CCRAFT SA is a Swiss photonic chip foundry spun out of CSEM (the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology) in May 2025 to commercialize thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology developed over more than six years of prior research. Headquartered in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, the company operates an ISO 9001 and 14001 certified 150mm wafer fabrication line within CSEM's facility, with a stated roadmap to transition to 200mm wafers and produce millions of TFLN chips annually by 2028. CCRAFT is positioned as the world's first industrial-scale TFLN PIC foundry, offering monolithic TFLN chips, TFLN chiplets for micro-transfer printing, and TFLN-enhanced silicon photonics micromachining services.
The company's product portfolio spans the full foundry lifecycle: Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) prototyping services with 3-4 runs per year and standardized per-mm² pricing; custom dedicated wafer runs with a 4-wafer minimum for pre-production and qualification; high-volume manufacturing targeting 100s to 20,000 wafers per year under multi-year contracts; and specialty process services (etching, metal deposition, oxide deposition, periodic poling). CCRAFT supports a qualified C-band Process Design Kit (PDK) via its partnership with Luceda Photonics, with O-band and quantum/visible-band PDKs launching through 2026. End markets served include telecom and datacom, AI and high-performance computing, quantum technologies, aerospace and space, sensing and spectroscopy, optical computing, microwave photonics, and 5G/6G with IoT.
The go-to-market is enterprise B2B direct sales combined with a partnership-led channel strategy. The company targets fabless photonic chip designers, silicon photonic foundries, and platform developers through its website, MPW inquiries, and direct engagement. Strategic partnerships with Luceda Photonics (PDKs), izmo Microsystems (packaging in India), Alcyon Photonics (IP libraries in Spain), PHIX (optical engines), and Soitec (European LNOI substrates) form an integrated photonics value chain. Revenue is recognized through transaction fees for MPW and specialty services, hardware sales for volume manufacturing, and multi-year contracts for high-volume customers. As of 2025-2026, CCRAFT remains a privately-held, founder-led (CEO Hamed Sattari), venture-stage company funded primarily by non-dilutive Swiss government grants (Innosuisse CHF 2.5M, FIT CHF 100K, EUR 5M ELENA Horizon 2020 consortium) rather than institutional venture equity.
CCRAFT firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CCRAFT
- Legal name
- CCRAFT SA
- Website
- https://ccraft.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CCRAFT is a Swiss TFLN photonic chip foundry spun out of CSEM in 2025 that manufactures thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits for AI data centers, telecom, quantum, aerospace, and sensing customers, offering MPW prototyping through high-volume manufacturing on a 150mm wafer line.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CCRAFT industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Photonic Integrated Circuit Foundry
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- RF & Compound Semiconductor Foundries (GaAs/GaN/SiGe) (HDAHACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire) (HDAHAGAB)
Keywords
Where CCRAFT is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Neuchâtel
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CCRAFT business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Services: Shared wafer access service for prototyping, research, and early-stage validation. Entry-level cost structure priced per mm². Early registration recommended due to limited participation slots. 3-4 MPW runs per year.
- Custom Dedicated Wafer Runs: Dedicated wafer runs on industrial-grade TFLN platform with minimum order of 4 wafers. Full control over layout, design integration, and fabrication parameters. Pricing scales per wafer or per chip based on order size. Ideal for qualification and pre-production validation.
- High-Volume Manufacturing: Industrial-scale production targeting 100s to 20,000 wafers per year capacity. Yield-optimized processes with stable quality control and 8-inch wafer manufacturing roadmap. Revenue scales with volume and production commitments.
- Specialty Process Services: Targeted fabrication services including etching, metal deposition, oxide deposition, and periodic poling on TFLN and related materials. Minimum 4 wafers with project-based pricing. Supports both prototype and scalable volume production.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | MPW (Multi-Project Wafer) - Entry-level prototyping service |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Custom Dedicated Wafer Runs - Pre-production and qualification |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | High-Volume Manufacturing - Product deployment and commercialization |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Specialty Process Services - Targeted fabrication services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
CCRAFT product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CCRAFT manufactures monolithic thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits at its 150mm wafer foundry in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The company offers foundry services spanning multi-project wafer (MPW) prototyping, custom dedicated wafer runs, high-volume manufacturing, and specialty process services (etching, metal deposition, oxide deposition, periodic poling). It also provides TFLN chiplets and Process Design Kits (PDKs) for photonic IC designers.
Product overview
CCRAFT is the world's first industrial-scale Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) foundry, offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services. The core products include Monolithic TFLN Chips fabricated on LNOI substrates, TFLN Chiplets for micro-transfer printing, and TFLN-Enhanced Silicon Photonics services. The service offerings span the entire product lifecycle: Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Service for prototyping, Custom Dedicated Wafer Runs for pre-production, High-Volume Manufacturing for mass production, and Specialty Process Services for specific processing needs. The company also provides Process Design Kits (PDKs) including CLN-Core and CLN-Plus platforms for chip design. Built on over six years of R&D at CSEM, CCRAFT operates a 150mm wafer foundry in Switzerland and is scaling toward 200mm and millions of chips annually by 2028.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Monolithic TFLN Chips Photonic integrated circuits fabricated on lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) substrates using up to 10 advanced process steps for full photonic integration, serving telecom, datacom, AI/HPC, quantum, and aerospace customers requiring data rates exceeding 400 Gbit/s.
- TFLN Chiplets Chiplets compatible with micro-transfer printing that enable cost-effective, customizable, and scalable heterogeneous integration with silicon photonics platforms.
- Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Service Entry-level prototyping service based on standardized TFLN platform and PDK, allowing customers to share wafer area for prototyping, research, and early-stage validation at low entry-level cost priced per mm², with 3-4 runs scheduled per year.
- Custom Dedicated Wafer Runs Dedicated wafer runs on industrial-grade TFLN platform for pre-production, product integration, and process qualification with minimum order of 4 wafers, providing full control over layout, design integration, and fabrication parameters with pricing scaling per wafer or per chip.
- High-Volume Manufacturing Industrial-scale TFLN PIC production service with capacity ramping to hundreds to 20,000 wafers per year, backed by yield-optimized processes, stable quality control, and an 8-inch wafer manufacturing roadmap.
- Specialty Process Services Targeted fabrication services including etching, metal deposition, oxide deposition, and periodic poling on TFLN and related materials, with minimum 4-wafer orders and project-based pricing supporting both prototype and scalable volume production.
- TFLN-Enhanced Silicon Photonics TFLN micromachining services supporting silicon photonics fabs and platform developers looking to integrate TFLN capabilities into their existing workflows for heterogeneous integration.
- Process Design Kit (PDK) Standardized Process Design Kits for photonic integrated circuit designers including C-band (1550 nm) qualified version, O-band (1310 nm) alpha version with beta launch planned in 2026, and quantum/visible bands (500-900 nm) with beta launch in 2026.
Quantifiable outcome
- Data rates exceeding 400 Gbit/s with TFLN EO modulators
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use CCRAFT
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments9 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CCRAFT technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
CCRAFT partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- izmo Microsystems (Izmo Limited)coreThree-way strategic partnership with izmo Microsystems and Alcyon Photonics to jointly design, manufacture, and commercialize photonic integrated circuit solutions. 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 deal aims to strengthen India's role in the fast-growing global silicon photonics market.
- Alcyon Photonics SLcoreThree-way strategic partnership with izmo Microsystems and Alcyon Photonics to jointly design, manufacture, and commercialize photonic integrated circuit solutions. Alcyon provides photonic IP libraries while CCRAFT handles TFLN chip manufacturing, creating an integrated photonics value chain across Europe and Asia for datacom, telecom, aerospace, and sensor sectors.
- Luceda PhotonicsstrategicLuceda Photonics and CCRAFT released two new Process Design Kits (PDKs) for CCRAFT's TFLN platform, enabling faster design processes and comprehensive sanity checks for photonic integrated circuit designers.
- SoitecstrategicEuropean substrate maker partnering with CCRAFT to source LNOI wafers domestically for the first time through the €5 million ELENA project funded under Horizon 2020, establishing a fully European supply chain for TFLN technology.
- ELENA Project Consortium (10 partners)strategic€5 million Horizon 2020 project successfully created the first European-made lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) substrates for photonic integrated circuits. The 40-month project established Europe's first open-access LNOI photonic chip foundry at CSEM's facility in Switzerland, with CCRAFT launched as a dedicated spinout to scale production.
- CSEMcoreCSEM serves as the R&D house continuing to enhance integrated photonic platforms through process innovation, device integration, and collaborative R&D. CCRAFT was spun out from CSEM in 2025 to scale manufacturing capacity. Over six years of intensive research at CSEM resulted in one of the world's most advanced industrial-grade TFLN PIC platforms. CSEM delivered thousands of chips to over 40 partners worldwide.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CCRAFT competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Quantum Computing Inc. Public quantum technology company with a TFLN photonic chip product line, named by CCRAFT as a competitor, with overlapping ambitions in scalable TFLN chip manufacturing for quantum and datacom.
- CompoundTek: Singapore-based silicon photonics foundry serving fabless customers with MPW and custom wafer runs, a peer in the merchant photonic foundry space targeting similar telecom/datacom customers.
- Lightium: Swiss photonic chip startup co-presented with CCRAFT at LASER World of Photonics, offering TFLN-based photonic products with overlapping customer profiles and technology origin in CSEM ecosystem.
- VLC Photonics: Spain-based photonic foundry offering fabless design services and access to multiple photonic platforms, comparable to CCRAFT's MPW and custom run offerings.
- Ligentec: Switzerland-based photonic integrated circuit foundry offering custom and MPW services on nitride and other photonic materials, the most direct European competitor to CCRAFT's foundry model.
- Hyperlight: US-based TFLN photonic integrated circuit company directly competing with CCRAFT in the same thin-film lithium niobate photonic chip foundry market, targeting similar telecom/datacom and AI data center customers.
Others
- CSEM: Swiss R&D center and parent origin of CCRAFT, providing ongoing technology development and hosting CCRAFT's 150mm foundry; not a competitor but a key infrastructure and R&D partner.
Broad incumbents
- Tower Semiconductor: Specialty foundry offering RF, analog, and silicon photonic processes at scale; a broad incumbent whose silicon photonics platform competes with CCRAFT's TFLN offering for similar end-customers.
- GlobalFoundries: Large established foundry with silicon photonics (GF Fotonix) and RF platforms, providing broader incumbent competition in the photonic IC manufacturing market.
- Intel Foundry: Intel's foundry business with integrated silicon photonics capabilities targeting data center and HPC interconnects, a broad incumbent that could compete with TFLN-based approaches if its roadmap closes the performance gap.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CCRAFT social profiles
Digital presenceCCRAFT compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
CCRAFT financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CCRAFT leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CCRAFT funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CCRAFT 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 CCRAFT
What does CCRAFT do?
CCRAFT manufactures monolithic thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits at its 150mm wafer foundry in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The company offers foundry services spanning multi-project wafer (MPW) prototyping, custom dedicated wafer runs, high-volume manufacturing, and specialty process services (etching, metal deposition, oxide deposition, periodic poling). It also provides TFLN chiplets and Process Design Kits (PDKs) for photonic IC designers.
Is CCRAFT a public or private company?
CCRAFT is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CCRAFT founded?
CCRAFT was founded in 2025. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CCRAFT based?
CCRAFT is headquartered in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does CCRAFT make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) Services are the primary driver. The others are custom Dedicated Wafer Runs, high-Volume Manufacturing and specialty Process Services.
Who are CCRAFT's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Quantum Computing Inc., CompoundTek, Lightium, VLC Photonics, Ligentec and Hyperlight. CSEM is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Tower Semiconductor, GlobalFoundries and Intel Foundry.
Does CCRAFT have an API?
No public API is recorded for CCRAFT.
What industry is CCRAFT in?
CCRAFT's product category is Photonic Integrated Circuit Foundry. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHACAD, RF & Compound Semiconductor Foundries (GaAs/GaN/SiGe), with a secondary code of HDAHAGAB, Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire). Its NAICS code is 33441 and its SIC code is 3674.