Swiss Photonics Integration Center (swiss Pic)

What Swiss Photonics Integration Center (swiss Pic) does

Swiss Photonics Integration Center (Swiss PIC) is a Swiss photonic integrated circuit (PIC) packaging foundry headquartered at Park InnovaARE in Villigen, directly adjacent to the Paul Scherrer Institute. Founded in 2023 under the federal AM-TTC Alliance, the company provides outsourced assembly and packaging services for photonic chips, serving customers that include photonic-component startups (Polariton Technologies, Miraex, Luxtelligence) and applied-research organizations (CSEM, ETH Zurich). Its core focus is on packaging designs that demand tight tolerances — quantum-photonic, silicon-photonic, and high-bandwidth communications modules — areas where European fabless and research customers historically lacked a domestic qualified partner.

The offering is anchored by an ISO Class 6 cleanroom equipped for die bonding, wire bonding, fiber array attachment, micro-optical assembly, and electro-optical testing. Disclosed technical parameters include fiber alignment resolution under 20 nm, RF bandwidth capacity up to 145 GHz with a stated 1 THz bench demonstration, and cryogenic packaging capability down to 10 mK — collectively positioning Swiss PIC at the upper end of European photonic-packaging capability. Capabilities are concentrated in a single site, with the manufacturing center officially inaugurated on November 24, 2025.

Revenue mechanics follow a manufacturing-services model: customers pay for custom packaging projects, prototyping and qualification runs, and small-batch production; pricing is project-based and tied to die complexity, fiber count, RF test requirements, and cryogenic integration. The go-to-market is direct and ecosystem-led — primarily through participation in OFC, the Swissphotonics Lunch Chat series, and a 3,000+ LinkedIn community — supplemented by events co-hosted with test-equipment vendors such as Keysight. Customer concentration is high given the small number of named accounts and the start-up/research profile of those accounts, which implies revenue predictability will depend heavily on converting pilot projects into repeat production volumes.

Name

Swiss Photonics Integration Center (swiss Pic)

Legal name

Swiss Photonics Integration Center

Website

https://swiss-pic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Swiss PIC is a Swiss photonic-chip packaging foundry at Park InnovaARE (Villigen), providing ISO Class 6 assembly and test services to European photonic startups and research institutes in quantum, silicon photonics, and high-speed communications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photonic Integrated Circuit Packaging Services

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lenses & Optical Accessories (Lenses, Filters, Adapters, Teleconverters) (CRACAPAF)

Keywords

• Photonic packaging services
• Photonic integrated circuits
• Micro optical assembly
• Quantum photonics packaging
• Semiconductor packaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Villigen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. PIC Packaging Services: Provides photonic integration and packaging services to photonics companies. Revenue generated through service fees for accessing manufacturing center capabilities including die bonding, wire bonding, fiber attachments, and testing services.
2. Custom Photonic Packaging Development: Develops custom photonic packages for specific customer requirements such as quantum-grade photonic systems or high-speed EOM packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Swiss PIC provides photonic integrated circuit (PIC) packaging, quantum photonics packaging, and micro optical assembly services through an ISO 6 production facility in Villigen, Switzerland. Its offering includes flexible ultra-high RF PIC packaging, standardized reference packages and variants (4ch RF evaluation board, terminated RF board, small EOM board, custom 1ch with lid, match-box sized PIC package), plus die bonding, wire bonding, fiber attachment, and electro-optical testing, taking customers from concept to scalable product.

Product overview

Swiss PIC is an advanced manufacturing technology transfer center offering photonic integration services with a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core service is PIC Packaging, which includes flexible ultra-high RF packaging and evaluation solutions. This is complemented by Quantum Photonics Packaging for quantum-grade systems and Micro Optical Assembly for component alignment. The Standardized PIC Package serves as the reference product offering, with multiple variants including the Match-box Sized package, 4ch RF Evaluation Board, Terminated RF Board, Small EOM Board, and Custom 1ch with lid. The company provides end-to-end services from first concept to scalable product through production-grade infrastructure and ISO 6 packaging facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PIC Packaging Flexible, ultra-high RF photonic integrated circuit packaging and evaluation service that enables fast system-level testing and transition to industrialized modules, supporting configurations from 1-8 RF channels, up to 145 GHz capability, up to 64 DC connections, edge or grating coupling, and single fiber, fiber array, or mode-matching interposer optical connections.
• Quantum Photonics Packaging Mechanically and thermally stable integration service for low-loss quantum-grade photonic systems, with packages engineered for reliable fiber attachments at temperatures down to 10 mK.
• Micro Optical Assembly High-precision alignment and attachment service for optical components used in robust, scalable photonic modules, using multiple 2x6 axes 3D alignment machines with resolution down to 20 nm on X, Y, and Z axes.
• Standardized PIC Package (with variants: 4ch RF Evaluation Board, Terminated RF Board, Small EOM Board, Custom 1ch with Lid) Ready-to-use standardized PIC reference package based on proven processes that minimizes risk, cost, and time-to-market while retaining maximal flexibility, adaptable to any chip size and supporting 1-8 RF channels, up to 145 GHz capability, and up to 64 DC connections, with variants including a 4-channel RF evaluation board, a terminated RF board, a small EOM board, a custom 1-channel package with lid, and a match-box sized package.
• Match-box Sized PIC Package Cost-effective alternative to semi-hermetic gold box packages, ideally suited for electro-optic modulator (EOM) applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 145 GHz RF bandwidth capability
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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 core and minor.

• Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023PSI is a founding partner of Swiss PIC. The center is located adjacent to PSI at Park Innovaare. PSI provides research expertise and the ecosystem for photonic integration development. PSI/EPFL board member Kirsten Moselund represents this partnership.
• OST Eastern Switzerland University of Applied SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023OST is a founding partner of Swiss PIC, contributing academic expertise to the photonic integration center. Advisory board member Tobias Lamprecht represents OST.
• SwissphotonicscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Swissphotonics is a founding partner representing the Swiss photonics industry community. Board President Christian Bosshard is from Swissphotonics. Partnership includes hosting Swissphotonics Lunch Chat events.
• LigenteccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Ligentec is a founding partner of Swiss PIC, bringing photonic integrated circuit expertise from industry. Board member Thomas Hessler represents Ligentec.
• Polariton TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Polariton Technologies is a founding partner of Swiss PIC, contributing expertise in plasmonic PIC technology. Board member Claudia Hössbacher represents Polariton. Swiss PIC has demonstrated world-record 1 THz modulation speed and 110+ GHz bandwidth on Polariton's chips.
• Park InnovaarecoreOthersPark Innovaare is the location of Swiss PIC's manufacturing center in Villigen, Switzerland. The park is adjacent to the Paul Scherrer Institute and provides infrastructure for the photonic integration facility.
• Computer ControlsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerComputer Controls co-hosted the Keysight & Computer Controls Photonics Innovation & Test Solutions Event with Swiss PIC to bring together the PIC community of Switzerland.
• ETH ZurichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerETH Zurich is a customer receiving cryogenic photonic packaging services through SQI Voucher program. Advisory board member Jürg Leuthold represents ETH Zurich.
• Politecnico di TorinominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss PIC is part of the SiCPIC PhD network, recruiting PhD students to develop new packaging technologies for SiC frequency combs together with Politecnico di Torino.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Ligentec: Ligentec is a Swiss-based silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit foundry and a founding partner of Swiss PIC. While its core business is foundry rather than packaging, its deep involvement in Swiss PIC's governance and the photonic ecosystem makes it a tightly intertwined emerging player in the same Swiss photonics supply chain.

Regional players

• AIM Photonics: AIM Photonics is the US-backed Manufacturing Innovation Institute for photonic integrated circuits, operating packaging and foundry services for the American PIC ecosystem. It is the US analog of Swiss PIC's AM-TTC-backed model, serving defense, telecom, and datacom customers with full-stack PIC capabilities across a national footprint.

Direct peers

• CompoundTek: CompoundTek is a Singapore-based merchant silicon photonics foundry services provider offering process design kits and prototyping support. It targets PIC developers needing foundry access and packaging support, sharing Swiss PIC's mission of lowering barriers for emerging PIC companies, though it is stronger on wafer-level foundry than assembly.
• PHIX Photonics Assembly: PHIX Photonics Assembly is a Netherlands-based provider of photonic integrated circuit packaging and assembly services, the closest direct competitor to Swiss PIC. Both operate packaging-as-a-service centers targeting photonics startups and SMEs that lack in-house packaging infrastructure, with overlapping capabilities in fiber attachment, die/wire bonding, and electro-optical test.
• Tyndall National Institute: Tyndall is Ireland's deep-tech research institute with significant photonic packaging capabilities, including a Photonics Packaging Group that delivers assembly and integration services. Swiss PIC's own advisory board includes Tyndall's Peter O'Brien, signaling a clear peer/partner relationship in research-to-production photonic packaging.
• VLC Photonics: VLC Photonics is a Spain-based photonic integrated circuit design house and packaging service provider serving telecom, datacom, quantum, and sensing customers. Like Swiss PIC, it addresses SMEs and startups needing PIC packaging expertise, though its primary emphasis is on PIC design services alongside assembly.

Others

• JePPIX Pilot Line / Europractice: Europractice provides European SMEs and academia with access to photonic and electronic foundry and packaging services, functioning as a comparable technology-bridging service for European photonics startups. It is structurally similar to Swiss PIC's mission but operates as a multi-vendor brokerage rather than a single dedicated center.
• JePPIX (Joint European Platform for Photonic Integration of Components and Circuits): JePPIX is a European platform coordinating the photonic integrated circuit supply chain, including design houses, foundries, and packaging providers such as PHIX and Fraunhofer HHI. It is a peer/ecosystem comparable to Swiss PIC at the consortium level rather than as a packaging service provider.

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI): Fraunhofer HHI is a large German applied-research institute covering photonic components, systems, and packaging with broader scope than Swiss PIC, including InP and polymer photonic integration. It represents an incumbent peer offering comparable but wider photonic integration services to European industry.
• CSEM (Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique): CSEM is a Swiss applied research center that develops and transfers microtechnology, including photonic packaging, into industry. It is both a Swiss PIC customer and a broad-incumbent peer with overlapping photonic and MEMS packaging capabilities across Swiss and European markets.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swiss-pic

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Swiss Photonics Integration Center (swiss Pic)