PhotonDelta Teams with Luminate NY to Support Photonics Startups
Netherlands-based photonic chip accelerator PhotonDelta has launched a collaboration with Luminate NY, an accelerator for startups with optics, photonics, and imaging enabled technologies, to support the growth of early-stage photonics companies across North America and the Netherlands.
Through this collaboration, startups that are part of the PhotonDelta or Luminate can get access to the benefits from each other's accelerator programs. This will enable photonics startups to leverage these ecosystems and relationships to accelerate innovation and scaling into the global market.
PhotonDelta and Luminate will work together to identify and vet candidates for participation in their programs and accelerator cycles. In addition, both organizations will introduce startups to their extensive networks of industry experts, investors, mentors, and production facilities. The collaboration will also provide soft-landing services as they establish a presence in both the U.S. and the Netherlands, thereby offering startups access to U.S. and European markets.
(From left) Jorn Smeets of PhotonDelta; Steffen Westerburger of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs; Sujatha Ramanujan, managing director of Luminate and chief investment officer of NextCorps; and James Senall, president of NextCorps. Courtesy of Luminate NY.
The memorandum of understanding also underpins the importance of the strategic collaboration between the Netherlands and New York State in the field of semiconductors and integrated photonics. Earlier this month, a NY State delegation consisting of government officials and industry experts visited the Netherlands to strengthen connections and share knowledge. The trip was supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The scope of the collaboration includes joint programming, beginning with a series of planned investor summits, pitch events, and webinars. This will include the Luminate 5x5 Pitches in August, Luminate Investor Summit in New York City on Sept. 12, the Luminate Finals on Oct. 22 and the PIC Summit Europe event in Eindhoven on Nov. 4 and 5. Executives from both organizations will meet quarterly to exchange insights on photonics developments and identify startups with strong potential for acceleration, funding, or market entry and develop new initiatives such as the Global Photonics Engineering Contest, which recently concluded with 33 submissions from all over the world.
Luminate, created and administered by non-profit NextCorps, and funded by Empire State Development, accepts 10-12 companies from around the world annually into its cohort-based program. The accelerator now has more than 80 companies in its portfolio, representing a variety of industries, from AR/VR, quantum computing, and semiconductors to materials and metrology, autonomous vehicles, healthcare, and clean energy. These companies collectively have an estimated value of more than $700 million. Luminate is a member of the NY Photonics cluster in a region that is home to more than 150 optics companies.
PhotonDelta’s ecosystem currently comprises more than 75 organizations that form a complete value chain, including design services, multiple foundries for photonic chip fabrication, packaging, assembly and testing, and an increasing number of fabless companies that use PIC technology for innovative solutions. PhotonDelta, a Dutch-based industry accelerator focused on photonic chip technology, has secured €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) to accelerate this next-generation semiconductor technology by running R&D programs, leading international roadmapping activities, and investing in pioneering startups that apply integrated photonics technology.
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