CamGraPhIC Srl, a leader in energy-efficient, high-bandwidth optical interconnect technology and a wholly owned subsidiary of 2D Photonics SpA (www.2dphotonics.com), today announces the successful completion of a £20m Series A equity funding round. This investment, raised through 2D Photonics, will be directly utilised by CamGraPhIC to support their continued innovation in graphene photonics transceivers, an advanced technology set to revolutionise artificial intelligence and cellular data transmission by improving energy efficiency, reducing latency, and increasing bandwidth.
With the investment, CamGraPhIC Srl will enhance its research and development capabilities in Pisa and establish a pilot manufacturing line in the Milan area. CamGraPhIC is also discussing with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy measures to support their new activities via the National Chips Fund.
This new facility will demonstrate a scalable mass production process compatible with commercial semiconductor and photonics foundries, reinforcing CamGraPhIC’s position at the forefront of next-generation optical technology.
The funding round was co-led by CDP Venture Capital, through its Large Ventures, Digital Transition and Toscana Next Funds, NATO Innovation Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, and Join Capital, with participation from Bosch Ventures, Frontier IP Group plc, and Indaco Venture Partners.
CamGraPhIC’s graphene-based transceivers provide a viable, stable, and highly scalable alternative to current silicon-based photonics. These advanced transceivers deliver much higher bandwidth density, and exceptional latency performance while consuming 80% less energy compared to traditional pluggable data centre optical transceivers. This innovation is particularly effective for transferring large volumes of data between Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which are fundamental to Generative AI and high-performance computing.
Additionally, the transceivers operate efficiently across a far broader temperature range, eliminating the need for complex and costly cooling systems. Thanks to a simplified device architecture enabled by a unique integration of ultra-high-quality graphene into the photonic structure, these transceivers are also more cost-effective to manufacture.
Initially targeting AI GPU to HBM interconnects, 2D Photonics with CamGraPhIC also plans to expand into avionics, automotive advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and space applications, where their rugged, high-performance transceivers offer significant technical and commercial advantages over existing technologies.
The funding will also be used to build out the senior team and initiate the scale-up of the technology in Milan, Italy, focusing on optimising production for large-scale manufacturing in a semiconductor foundry environment.
CamGraPhIC was founded in 2018 by Andrea Ferrari, Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre, and Marco Romagnoli, Head of Research Sector - Advanced Technologies for Photonic Integration at the Pisa National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT), with the support of Frontier IP Group. 2D Photonics SpA is the group Topco formed as part of this Series A investment round.
