Silicon photonics has pushed against the same friction point for years. Compute requirements kept rising. AI designs kept splitting into larger chiplet clusters. Electrical links kept struggling to keep up. The tension around bandwidth, heat, and interconnect efficiency shaped a clear inflection point across next generation processors.
Now one startup is stepping directly into that pressure. Paris based Ncodin has raised €16M in an oversubscribed seed round to industrialize a photonic platform built around an on silicon laser. The company introduced a path to optical interconnects that bypass copper limits by placing dense nanolaser arrays into a CMOS compatible process.
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Technical position
The Ncodin silicon laser sits at the center of the company’s plan to solve electrical interconnect bottlenecks. Copper links have reached limits around energy draw and bandwidth density. Optical links can cut power per bit and carry more data across chiplets, yet they rely on complex external light sources. Ncodin integrates the source directly into silicon to remove that requirement and simplify packaging.
The company’s flagship platform, NConnect, uses nanolaser arrays across chiplet boundaries. This approach supports large scale AI processors where dozens of chiplets must communicate continuously. Record energy efficiency for these links gives engineers more thermal headroom and more predictable performance.
Manufacturing path
The €16M seed round provides capital to reach 300 mm CMOS compatibility. That step defines whether the design can scale toward commercial volumes. The team has already built a cleanroom for rapid prototyping and has attracted advisors with backgrounds at ARM, Intel, and Luxtera. The new funding supports additional engineering roles and the expansion of production infrastructure.
The company will also establish a Silicon Valley presence. That decision positions the platform closer to potential AI accelerator customers and potential manufacturing partners. It also supports access to design teams working on next generation architectures where optical networking is already under active evaluation.
Investor profile
MIG Capital led the round with participation from Maverick Silicon, Photonventures, Verve Ventures, and existing backers Elaia, Earlybird, and OVNI. The mix of photonics focused and general deep tech investors shows interest in reducing interconnect power requirements at the package level. Several participants specialize in early stage hardware, which aligns with the long development cycles required for silicon photonics.
The size of the round also shows an increase in early seed appetite for infrastructure aligned with AI hardware. Prior rounds in this domain centered on packaging materials, novel memory, or advanced substrates. This round extends that pattern to integrated light sources.
Market direction
Near term progress will center on whether the Ncodin silicon laser can maintain performance across full wafer processes. AI hardware designers want consistent yield and minimal variation across optical components. Photonics teams will watch early characterization data closely. Any sign of stable output across batches would accelerate interest from accelerator vendors.
The next indicator will be early manufacturing partnerships. Joint development agreements often serve as the first signal of commercial traction. The company’s push toward a Silicon Valley base suggests early conversations may already be underway.
Strategic significance
The Ncodin silicon laser arrives at a moment when interconnect power and bandwidth shape the pace of AI hardware development. Copper limits have slowed chiplet expansion and increased total system energy draw. Integrating a laser into silicon moves part of the communication stack into a more scalable process. The €16M seed round gives Ncodin a runway to test yield, refine packaging, and prepare for early customer evaluations. If the platform meets its targets, optical networking at the package level could become a standard requirement across future AI accelerators.
Reference
van Gerven, P. (2025, November 20). French startup Ncodin raises €16M to tackle AI’s copper wall. Bits&Chips. https://bits-chips.com/article/french-startup-ncodin-raises-e16m-to-tackle-ais-copper-wall/
