PhotonVentures
Venture capitalHilversum · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 9 people tracked
Investment thesis
PhotonVentures is a specialist European VC firm investing exclusively in photonics, which it views as a trillion-dollar infrastructure transition. As Moore's Law nears its physical limits and electronic systems face power, bandwidth, and latency constraints, the firm believes photonics extends the technological frontier by enabling faster, more compact, and energy-efficient processing, transmission, and sensing. It targets early-stage, high-growth photonics leaders across sectors such as AI & computing, data & communications, security, autonomy & robotics, healthcare & biosensing, AR/VR, and quantum. Positioned at the center of the European photonics ecosystem, it leverages supply-chain signals, industry buyers, and research institutions for proprietary deal flow.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
What they invest in
from 18 of 19 portfolio companiesDeep Tech ×18Hardware ×14Semiconductors ×10AI & Machine Learning ×4Medical Devices ×3Quantum Computing ×3Advanced Manufacturing ×2Biotech ×2
HQs:Netherlands×12Austria×1Belgium×1France×1United States×1
Investments · 19 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathMantispectra develops ChipSense, a compact hyperspectral sensor for non-destructive material analysis across the 500–1700 nm spectrum.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsEindhoven, NL
Co-investorsInnovation Industries
MicroAlign develops micro-actuator technology for high-precision fiber array alignment, enabling nanometer-scale positioning of optical fibers to photonic chips.
Deep TechHardwareQuantum ComputingEindhoven, NL
Marco Fattori(CTO and Co-founder)Cees Luijendijk(CFO and Co-founder)Simone Cardarelli(CEO and Co-founder)
Co-investorsDeepTechXL
Surfix develops diagnostic tests based on surface modification and organic chemistry technologies, offering accessible and easy-to-use solutions for early diagnosis and monitoring of medical conditions.
BiotechDeep TechDigital HealthMedical DevicesWageningen, NL
Co-investorsOost NL
Arycs Technologies develops AI infrastructure systems that prioritize architectural efficiency and energy optimization through silicon photonics and coherent DSP technologies.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsLos Gatos, US
Roberto Marcoccia(Chief Executive Officer)Harald Graber(Chief Commercial Officer)Tony Englese(Chief Operating Officer)
Astrape Networks builds Effiniti, a self-configuring, in-band distributed network fabric that unifies scale-up, scale-out and scale-across, composing virtual racks, pods and clusters on demand across single or multiple datacenters.
Data & InfrastructureDeep TechHardware
Co-investorsSHIFT Invest
Brilliance develops a compact, energy-efficient RGB laser chip based on a patented silicon-nitride integrated photonics platform, manufactured at wafer scale using semiconductor processes.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsEnschede, NL
CUbIQ Technologies develops quantum communication technology, including quantum key distribution (QKD) demonstrated in a QSFP-28 pluggable form factor.
CybersecurityDeep TechQuantum ComputingEindhoven, NL
Aaron Albores Mejia(Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer)Jeffrey Lee(Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer)Chigo Okonkwo(Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer)Alex Alvarado(Co-founder and Scientific advisor)
Delta Life Science develops rapid, sensitive, and low-cost biosensor technology and instruments for analyzing biomarker concentrations in life sciences research and diagnostics.
BiotechDeep TechMedical DevicesRotterdam, NL
Bart de Boer(CTO)
Co-investorsUNIIQ
EFFECT Photonics designs integrated tunable laser assemblies (pico and nano ITLAs) built on a monolithic indium phosphide photonic integration platform for coherent optical transceivers used in telecom, metro, access, DCI and AI networks.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsEindhoven, NL
Co-investorsBOMInnovation IndustriesMatterwave Ventures
EFI is a medical technology and device company developing haptic-feedback technology for laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, using patented optical and strain-gauge sensors to give surgeons tactile and force feedback on tissue stiffness and arterial pulsations.
Deep TechHardwareMedical DevicesMaastricht, NL
Lionix International develops photonic integrated circuits and hybrid-integrated laser technologies for applications in telecommunications, microwave photonics, biomedical sensing, and space communications.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsNetherlands, NL
Co-investorsFORWARD.one
NcodiN develops optical interconnect technology based on nanophotonics to enhance AI processor performance and efficiency.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechSemiconductors
Francesco Manegatti(Co-founder, CEO)inFabrice Raineri(Co-founder, CTO)in
Co-investorsElaiaOVNI CapitalVerve Ventures
PHIX is a European packaging foundry providing integrated photonics (PIC) packaging and contract manufacturing services, including hybrid integration, optical fiber assembly, and RF/electrical connectivity for all major PIC material platforms.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardware
Co-investorsInnovation Industries
PhotonFirst develops integrated photonics sensing technology for measuring strain, shape, temperature, and pressure.
Deep TechDefense TechHardwareSemiconductors
Leendert-Jan Nijstad(CEO)Thijs van Leest(Director R&D)Sjoukje Blom(Head of HR)
Co-investorsBOM
QuiX Quantum develops Carina, a room-temperature photonic quantum computer that integrates photon generation, photonic processing, switching, cluster-state generation, detection, and feed-forward control into a deployable system.
Deep TechHardwareQuantum ComputingEnschede, NL
Co-investorsFORWARD.one
SMART Photonics is a foundry and development partner specializing in integrated photonics technology.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsEindhoven, NL
Co-investorsInnovation IndustriesKPN VenturesBOM
Vitrealab develops and manufactures display components for augmented reality glasses using proprietary laser waveguide technology, produced in a dedicated cleanroom with custom fabrication processes.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsVienna, AT
Co-investorsaws GründungsfondsExcellis HoldingLIFTTxista science ventures
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesEFFECT Photonics · effectphotonics.com · May 26, 2026
Ncodin · optica-opn.org · Nov 21, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has PhotonVentures made?
- PhotonVentures has 19 tracked investments.
- What stage does PhotonVentures invest at?
- PhotonVentures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What is PhotonVentures's typical check size?
- PhotonVentures typically writes checks of $1.1M – $2.7M.
- What sectors does PhotonVentures focus on?
- PhotonVentures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Hardware, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Semiconductors.
- Where is PhotonVentures located?
- PhotonVentures is headquartered in Hilversum, NL.
- Who does PhotonVentures co-invest with?
- PhotonVentures most often shares deals with BOM, Innovation Industries, Elaia, among 13 tracked co-investors.
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