The NATO Innovation Fund reports that it has invested in the Italian innovation company CamGraPhic, active in the development of high-bandwidth, energy-efficient optical interconnection technology. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of 2D Photonics, thus receives a EUR 25 million Series A financing round. Co-investors in the deal include CDP Venture Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, Join Capital, Bosch Ventures, Frontier IP Group and Indaco Venture Partners.
The investment, raised through 2D Photonics, will be used directly by CamGraPhic to support its continued innovation in graphene photonic transceivers, an advanced technology set to revolutionise artificial intelligence and cellular data transmission by improving energy efficiency, reducing latency and increasing bandwidth.
In line with the NATO Innovation Fund’s objective to strengthen the technology innovation ecosystem in all 24 nations that support us, CamGraPhic will use this investment to enhance its research and development capabilities in Pisa and establish a pilot production line in the Milan area.
The new facilities will demonstrate a scalable mass production process compatible with commercial semiconductor and photonics foundries, strengthening CamGraPhic’s position at the forefront of next-generation optical technology.
The funding will also be used to build the senior team and start the scale-up of the technology to focus on optimising production for large-scale manufacturing.
“We are excited to support 2D Photonics’ innovative approach in the realisation of advanced graphene-based transceiver technology. Efficient, high-speed data communication is critical to the security and resilience of the Atlantic Alliance, underpinning technologies such as artificial intelligence and telecommunications, as well as having applications in aerospace and defence. We are proud to support the 2D Photonics team in commercialising this key technology,’ says Ben Balmforth, senior associate of the NATO Innovation Fund, in a note.
CamGraPhic’s graphene-based transceivers provide a viable, stable and highly scalable alternative to today’s silicon-based photonics. These advanced transceivers offer much higher bandwidth density and exceptional latency performance, while consuming 80 per cent less power than conventional optical data centre transceivers. This innovation is particularly effective for transferring large volumes of data between graphics processing units (GPUs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which are critical for generative artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
In addition, the transceivers operate efficiently over a much wider temperature range, eliminating the need for complex and expensive cooling systems. Thanks to a simplified device architecture, made possible by the unique integration of the highest quality graphene in the photonic structure, these transceivers are also cheaper to manufacture.
Initially intended for interconnections between AI GPUs and HBMs, 2D Photonics and CamGraPhic plan to expand into avionics, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for automotive and space applications, where their robust, high-performance transceivers offer significant technical and commercial advantages over existing technologies. (image taken from company website)
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