Press Releases

Interesting article in Venturebeat by Bert-Jan Woertman on how Europe and especially The Netherlands is leading the way in the advancement of photonic technology.

Internet Service Providers around the world are facing the increasing challenges of delivering more services to their data-hungry customers at a faster speed and a lower cost. Dutch High-Tech company launches its photonic integration technology targeted at mobile networks and Data Centers to address this growing demand, fueled by exceptional market growth at a rate of 58% CAGR for Data Centre interconnects and 45% for mobile.

Eindhoven, 18 April 2016. Eindhoven University spin-out, EFFECT Photonics, has recently launched and is sampling its first product family based on its optical ‘System-on-Chip’ photonic integration technology. The successful launch took place in March at a leading global industry trade show, OFC, in Anaheim, USA and generated strong interest with customers, analysts and trade media.

With the existing internet infrastructure unable to support the end-user demand, EFFECT’s photonic integration technology will address the increasing need for optical fiber bandwidth at low cost. With this revolutionary technology, an entire optical system can be integrated into a single chip, the size of a grain of rice, and manufactured cost effectively into a module that fits into the palm of your hand. Another advantage of this technology is its energy efficiency over existing solutions. This significantly reduces energy consumption, contributing to the overall sustainability of the Internet.

EFFECT’s optical ‘System-on-Chip’ technology will extend the edges of the Internet to help deliver high speed broadband to users at home, in the office, and on the move by improving broadband connection speeds and from mobile cell towers into the core of the Internet. The opportunity in this market is forecasted to grow to €30 billion by 2025.

EFFECT’s technology is integrated into a module which can handle many simultaneous data connections, greatly reducing the cost, physical space and power needed per connection. This technology makes it very attractive for Internet Service Providers and will ultimately benefit end-users. EFFECT’s products also support industry standard equipment, which means they can be used in existing and future communication systems.

CTO and founder, Boudewijn Docter commented “The last years have been very exciting; building our company from scratch, forming a great team, raising funds and making the technology ready for mass production. It’s a great adventure and recognizing the positive impact this will have on end-users around the world, makes it even more rewarding!”

Further information:
Email: press@effectphotonics.com

Photonic integration start-up, EFFECT Photonics is launching its first product family based on its optical ‘System-on-Chip’ technology platform which integrates all the active and passive components of a DWDM system within a single chip, without traditional gold box packaging.

EFFECT Photonics’ proposition addresses the soaring demand for affordable bandwidth between Data Centres and back from mobile cell towers by bringing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing technology to the edges of the network. By using the high integration ‘System-on-Chip’ Technology, port density can be increased by over 6-times and operational expenses reduced by 40% when compared with existing approaches.

The product family includes transceivers for transmission of 100Gbps over 80km at lowest cost and power, together with high density solutions containing many wavelengths for emerging WDM Access markets in fronthaul, backhaul and NGPON2.   Industry standard sockets are supported including CFP and CFP2, meaning the products can be used in existing and future systems.

James Regan, CEO commented “We could see a bandwidth crunch coming at the edges of the network and knew that DWDM could be the answer, but it had to be done differently, so we developed a holistic solution from the ground up. We have completely re-thought how to tackle the issues of cost, power and density.  As well as integrating many optical functions into a single chip, we have reduced the cost and complexity of our packaging resulting in a commercially viable solution.  Regan added “We’re now at the sampling stage which is a very exciting time for us, after all the hard work we’ve put in in the past years”.

Andrew Schmitt, founder and analyst at Cignal Al, said “100 Gbps over 40km to 80km is a significant market opportunity that has no cost effective solution today. This is the next battleground for 100G solutions.”

EFFECT Photonics will be showcasing its new product family at the forthcoming industry event OFC, booth no 2833, taking place in Anaheim, CA, between 20-24 March 2016.

Dutch company enables photonic integration technology for mobile networks and datacentres and revolutionizes density, cost, and power.

EFFECT Photonics today announced that it has closed its Series-A funding to bring its Optical System-on-Chip technology to market to meet the soaring demand for bandwidth in cell towers and between datacentres. The first close of the investment round was led by investment company b-to-v Partners, and included the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and Optidob. EFFECT Photonics develops and delivers highly integrated optical components based on InP (Indium Phosphide) which is the material of choice for combining efficient laser light sources, waveguides, modulators, amplifiers, and photodiodes used in optical communication systems throughout the world. Using EFFECT Photonics’ System-on-Chip Technology, port density can be increased by over 6-times and operational expenses reduced by 40% when compared with existing approaches.

EFFECT Photonics is a spin out from the prestigious Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) which has been at the forefront of European photonic integration research. EFFECT Photonics, the recent winner of the Invest in Photonics Best Company award combines a team of integration technology innovators and experienced photonics industry veterans with backgrounds in Bookham, Nortel Components, JDSU and Agility.

James Regan, CEO, commented: “Dramatically increasing consumer demand for mobile video is driving a wave of data through cell towers and between datacentres that is expected to rise ten times over the next four years, creating a capacity crunch that only Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) can solve. With our DWDM Optical System-on-Chip and advanced packaging technologies we enable the cost structure network providers need in a competitive market environment.”

Dr. Christian Reitberger, joining the board of the company on behalf of b-to-v Partners, commented: “We are excited to work with the EFFECT Photonics team to deliver on the vision of highly cost effective photonic integration, combining the intellectual capital of Eindhoven and the South West UK know-how clusters. The photonic manufacturing ecosystem has finally evolved to make capital-light photonic hardware companies a reality.”

Miriam Dragstra, Managing Director of BOM Capital added: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to support EFFECT Photonics as a high-potential photonics start-up in our region, which has established itself as world-leading in the area of Integrated Photonics. Our investment will contribute to increasing that critical mass and its spin-off to the community further.”

For more information about EFFECT Photonics, visit: www.effectphotonics.com.

Source: EFFECT Photonics.

About EFFECT Photonics
EFFECT Photonics B.V. is spin out from the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) and is a leader in the in the design and development of optical components using multichannel Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) in Indium Phosphide for mobile networks and datacentres. Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the birthplace of Philips, with additional R&D in South West UK and sales partners worldwide. For additional information, visit: www.effectphotonics.com.
Media contact
Email: press@effectphotonics.com

About b-to-v Partners
Based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Berlin, Germany, b-to-v is one of the leading networks of private investors in Europe. The company also acts as an independent investor and invests in start-ups, mid-size companies and special investment opportunities in the areas of Internet&Mobile, Life Sciences and Clean Technologies. b-to-v’s investment philosophy is based on creating sustainable added value for its portfolio companies while leveraging the industry expertise and entrepreneurial know-how stemming from the b-to-v’s network of private investors.

Media contact
Lennart Meyer
HOSCHKE & CONSORTEN Public Relations GmbH
Tel: +49 40 36 90 50-32
E-Mail: l.meyer@hoschke.de

About BOM
The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) promotes business development in a number of ways, with a particular focus on innovative companies and cross-industry initiatives that give the Brabant economy a lasting and competitive edge in a rapidly globalizing world and place the region among the top in Europe in terms of knowledge and innovation. BOM employs themed funds to invest venture capital in concepts with a promising future and encourages other public and private partners to come on board. In addition to venture capital and business development, BOM encourages knowledge-intensive and other foreign companies to establish themselves in Brabant. BOM also revitalizes existing economic potential, primarily by means of overhauling aging commercial sites.