Ephos, a Milan, Italy-based producer of glass-based photonic chips, raised $8.5M in Seed funding.
The round was led by Starlight Ventures, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, 2100 Ventures, Unruly Capital, Green Sands Equity, Silicon Roundabout Ventures, and Club degli Investitori, as well as angel investors Joe Zadeh (former Vice President at Airbnb), Diego Piacentini (former Senior Vice President at Amazon), and Simone Severini (General Manager, Quantum Technologies, Amazon Web Services).
The funding included non-dilutive components from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA).
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the launch of its new research and manufacturing facility located in the Milano Innovation District (MIND), one of Europe’s technology hubs, which will serve as a central hub for manufacturing and product innovation.
Led by CEO Andrea Rocchetto, Ephos designs and manufactures glass-based integrated photonic circuits that empower classical and quantum devices. Built on glass substrates, the chips offer high level performance for signal loss. Additionally, the company’s novel 3D design and manufacturing capabilities unlock scaling opportunities and computational modalities that enable better system performance.
FinSMEs
24/09/2024