What Almae Technologies does

Almae Technologies SAS is a France-based photonic chip design and manufacturing company specializing in Indium Phosphide (InP) based high-speed lasers and transmitters for telecom and datacom applications. Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from III-V Lab (a joint research laboratory of Nokia Bell Labs, Thales, and CEA-Leti), the company operates from a 2,000+ m² cleanroom facility in Marcoussis, France, with a production capacity exceeding 1,000 InP wafers per year on 3" and 4" formats. Its proprietary Semi-Insulating Buried Heterostructure (SIBH) technology, licensed from Nokia Bell Labs, combined with in-house Gas Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy (GSMBE) and butt-joint integration, forms a complete in-house value chain from heterostructure design through epitaxial growth, wafer fabrication, and electro-optical characterization.

The company's product portfolio centers on externally modulated lasers (EMLs) for 10G, 25G, and 50G applications across C-band and O-band wavelengths, alongside DFB lasers, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), and integrated EML-SOA devices. These products target three primary use cases: telecom and FTTH/PON networks (with record >13 dBm output power for 50G-PON), data center interconnects (56 GBaud PAM4 EMLs for 800G/1.6T transceivers), and 5G fronthaul/backhaul. The company complements its product sales with pure-play InP foundry services and custom photonic integrated circuit design for third-party customers.

Almae generates revenue through direct enterprise sales of photonic chips (sold as wafers, bars, or singulated chips) to Tier-1 telecom operators and optical network equipment manufacturers, plus fee-for-service foundry and design activities. Its majority shareholder is an affiliate of Accelink Technologies Co Ltd of Wuhan, China. The company is led by CEO Jean-Louis Gentner (former Director of III-V Lab) and CTO François Lelarge (former head of Epitaxy and New Material Technology at III-V Lab), holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, and maintains active research collaborations with POET Technologies, IRT Nanoelec, Fraunhofer IZM, and VTT.

Name

Almae Technologies

Legal name

Almae Technologies SAS

Website

https://almae-technologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Almae Technologies designs and manufactures Indium Phosphide-based photonic chips — including EMLs, DFB lasers, and SOAs — for telecom, FTTH/PON, datacom, and 5G applications, selling direct to Tier-1 telecom operators and optical network equipment manufacturers while also offering pure-play InP foundry services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonic Semiconductor Components

NAICS

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

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG), Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL) (HDAHALAL)

Keywords

• Indium phosphide photonic chips
• Externally modulated lasers
• Semiconductor optical amplifiers
• InP foundry services
• Telecom datacom transmitters

Headquarters

HQ city

Marcoussis

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Photonic Chip and Component Sales: Almae Technologies designs, manufactures, and sells InP-based photonic chips and components including EMLs (externally modulated lasers), DFB lasers, and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) as wafers, bars, or singulated chips to telecom and datacom customers.
2. Foundry Services (Pure-Play InP): Almae offers pure-play InP foundry services to third parties including MOVPE or MBE epitaxial growth, clean room fabrication, and backend packaging and electro-optical characterization. Services cover individual process steps or bundled process flows.
3. Custom Design and Co-Development Services: Internal design team provides custom design services for photonic integrated circuits, including design of epitaxial heterostructures, architecture and foundry-compatible mask design, custom technological processes, and flip-chip/hybridization compatible designs for integration into larger photonic circuits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Almae Technologies designs, manufactures, and sells InP-based ultra-high-speed photonic chips — including externally modulated lasers (EMLs), DFB lasers, and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) — sold as wafers, bars, or singulated chips to telecom and datacom OEM customers. The company complements its product line with pure-play InP foundry services covering epitaxial growth, clean-room fabrication, backend packaging, electro-optical characterization, and custom photonic integrated circuit design for third parties.

Product overview

Almae Technologies operates as a next-generation photonic chips supplier offering a portfolio of high-speed externally modulated lasers (EMLs) and foundry services. The core product line includes TDM and DWDM C-band EMLs (10G and 25G variants), O-band 25/50G EMLs, high-power 1577nm EMLs, and EML-SOA integrated devices. These products are designed for telecom (FTTH/PON), datacenter (DCI), and 5G wireless markets supporting DWDM, CWDM, and LAN-WDM channels. The company complements its product portfolio with custom design services and pure-play InP foundry services covering epitaxial growth, wafer fabrication, and packaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TDM C-band 10G-EML Externally Modulated Laser (EML) for Time Division Multiplexing applications in the C-band at 10 Gbps, qualified by Tier-1 customers for telecom infrastructure deployments.
• DWDM C-band 10G EML
• DWDM C-band 25G EML
• High Power 1577nm 10G EML
• O-band 25/50G EML
• O-band High Power Lasers with Low Divergence
• EML-SOA (Electro-Absorption Modulated Laser with Semiconductor Optical Amplifier)
• Custom Design Services
• Manufacturing Services
• Pure-Play InP Foundry Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 50Gb/s electro-absorption modulated laser with >13 dBm modulated output power — record for unamplified 50G-PON transmitter
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 April 2023Almae Technologies collaborates with VTT in the Dynamos HEU project, presenting first results demonstrating compatibility between Almae and VTT photonic platforms at PIC International Conference 2023 in Brussels.
• Fraunhofer IZM (MASSTART project)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2021Almae Technologies participates in the H2020 MASSTART project led by Fraunhofer IZM, contributing laser sources for the development of next-generation 800G and 1.6T transceivers with on-board configuration using robust, low-cost, high-throughput packaging and test techniques.
• POET Technologies Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2018Co-development agreement for transmit device solutions based on POET's Optical Interposer platform for high-speed data communication applications. Almae and POET collaborate on designs of lasers and modulators compatible with POET's Optical Interposer, with Almae providing foundry services for epitaxial supply and device fabrication. The agreement covers exchange of data and techniques, co-development activities, commercial arrangements, and global go-to-market strategies for 100/400G and 10/25G markets.
• IRT Nanoelec ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 December 2017Almae Technologies joined the IRT Nanoelec silicon photonics program, bringing expertise in III-V material deposition for silicon photonics component technology bricks, custom epitaxy techniques, and photonic components for telecommunications applications.
• III-V LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2016Almae Technologies was spun off from III-V Lab in October 2015, a joint research laboratory of Nokia Bell Labs, Thales, and CEA-Leti. Almae acquired equipment and received technology transfer including patents licensed from Nokia, enabling it to immediately enter production of III-V semiconductor wafers for the telecommunications market.
• InPACTminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2016InPACT, a III-V Lab partner for over 10 years, collaborates with Almae Technologies on high-added-value services in epitaxial wafer manufacturing, supporting Almae's positioning as a major player in photonic integrated circuits.
• Nokia Bell Labs FrancecoreTechnology or Integration · 29 June 2016Almae Technologies licenses photonic technology patents from Nokia Bell Labs and benefits from technology transfer from Nokia Bell Labs and III-V Lab, including buried heterostructure laser technology at the leading edge of global photonics innovation.
• EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium)minorOthers · 29 June 2016Almae Technologies is a member of EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium), participating in EPIC events, exhibitions, and the Photonics+ virtual exhibition conference.
• Systematic Paris-RegionminorOthers · 29 June 2016Almae Technologies is a member of Systematic Paris-Region, a competitiveness cluster in the Paris region supporting technology companies in the electronics and photonics sectors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mitsubishi Electric: Mitsubishi Electric is a major Japanese InP laser and EML supplier for telecom and datacom applications, with a long history in high-speed optical components for FTTH/PON and DWDM networks. It competes directly with Almae in access network optics while operating across a much broader industrial electronics portfolio.
• Coherent Corp (formerly II-VI): Coherent is a broad incumbent photonics and compound semiconductor manufacturer with InP laser/EML products, GaAs VCSELs, and silicon photonics capabilities following its II-VI and Finisar acquisitions. It competes with Almae across telecom and datacom optics while also serving adjacent markets such as industrial lasers, 3D sensing, and micro-LEDs, giving it scale and customer reach that Almae cannot match.
• Broadcom Inc. Broadcom is a dominant supplier of high-speed optical components including EMLs, photonic integrated circuits, and complete transceiver modules for datacenter and telecom applications. Through its acquisition history (Avago, Brocade, etc.) it has assembled one of the broadest photonic chip portfolios globally and competes with Almae across multiple EML and PIC product lines.

Direct peers

• Hisense Broadband: Hisense Broadband is one of China's largest optical transceiver and EML manufacturers, with a strong position in FTTH/PON modules and increasingly in high-speed datacom transceivers. It is a direct competitor to Almae in the Chinese and global access network optics market, with the additional advantage of domestic Chinese OEM relationships that align with Accelink's home market.
• Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations (SEDI): SEDI (a Sumitomo Electric subsidiary) is a leading InP laser and EML manufacturer for telecom and datacom applications, with strong positions in 10G/25G/50G/100G EMLs and a deep presence in PON optics. It directly competes with Almae in DWDM, CWDM, and high-speed access network laser products.
• Lumentum Holdings: Lumentum is one of the world's largest InP-based photonic component makers, supplying high-speed EMLs, DFB lasers, and tunable lasers to Tier-1 telecom and datacom OEMs. It is the most direct strategic competitor to Almae in the InP laser and transmitter market, with overlapping product roadmaps in 100G/200G/400G/800G EMLs and PON applications.

Emerging players

• MACOM Technology Solutions: MACOM designs and manufactures high-performance analog RF, microwave, photonic semiconductors, and InP-based components for telecom, datacom, and industrial applications. It is comparable to Almae as a smaller, specialized photonic component vendor targeting high-speed EML and PIC applications, with a more diversified GaAs/InGaP heritage.
• LIGENTEC SA: LIGENTEC is a European pure-play InP and silicon nitride foundry offering custom photonic integrated circuit fabrication services. It is highly comparable to Almae's foundry services business model — both target fabless photonic startups and researchers needing III-V fabrication without in-house fabs, and both operate within the European photonic innovation ecosystem.
• Effect Photonics: Effect Photonics designs and manufactures highly integrated optical components based on InP photonic integrated circuits for next-generation DWDM networks. It is comparable to Almae as a European photonic chip innovator targeting high-speed telecom and datacom links, with emphasis on monolithic InP integration for tunable lasers and transceivers.
• POET Technologies Inc. POET Technologies develops the Optical Interposer hybrid integration platform for high-speed datacom transceivers and has an active co-development agreement with Almae. The two companies are complementary as well as partially competing — both target 100/400G/800G photonic integration, with POET focused on the hybrid interposer platform and Almae supplying InP EMLs and providing foundry services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/25395267

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Almae Technologies