{"city":"Goleta","name":"OpenLight","slug":"openlight","facts":[{"date":"2026-08-11","type":"partnership","value":"Tower; OpenLight photonic PDK made available for Tower's PH18DA InP-on-silicon platform within Cadence EDA tools","source":"ir.towersemi.com and convergedigest.com"},{"date":"2026-08-11","type":"revenue_band","value":"pre-revenue","source":"ir.towersemi.com and convergedigest.com"},{"date":"2026-08-11","type":"partnership","value":"Tower Semiconductor for availability of the OpenLight photonic PDK on Tower's PH18DA InP-on-silicon platform within Cadence EDA tools","source":"ir.towersemi.com and convergedigest.com"},{"date":"2026-04-29","type":"total_funding","value":"Total funding","source":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-04-29","type":"total_funding","value":"USD 84000000","source":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-04-29","type":"funding_round","value":"Series A-1","source":"semiconductor-today.com"}],"peers":[],"stage":null,"state":"California","aliases":["OpenLight Photonics"],"country":"United States","domains":[{"why":"OpenLight offers an open silicon photonics platform and design kits for Tower's InP-on-silicon process, with integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors.","list":null,"rank":null,"tier":"watchlist","layer":null,"total":72,"domain":"AI Core","scores":{"leverage":8,"position":8,"progress":10,"firepower":6,"commercial":4,"deployment":6,"production":2,"technology":10},"edition":null,"segment":null}],"founded":null,"signals":[{"date":"2026-09-25","header":"OpenLight is sampling 3.2T DR8 silicon photonic PICs.","outlet":"Electronics Weekly"},{"date":"2026-09-22","header":"OpenLight is sampling 3.2T DR8 silicon photonic power ICs.","outlet":"Electronics Weekly"},{"date":"2026-08-12","header":"OpenLight received its first volume production orders for Tower Semiconductor’s PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-08-12","header":"OpenLight secured $50 million in Series A-1 funding, bringing its total capital raised to $84 million.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-08-12","header":"Tower’s PH18DA platform supports laser-integrated PIC designs for 400G and 1.6T optical systems.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-08-12","header":"OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor made OpenLight’s PH18DA photonics PDK available in Cadence EDA tools.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"}],"website":"openlightphotonics.com","category":"AI Infra · Fabrication, memory & packaging","categories":[{"name":"Photonic foundry & PIC platforms","domain":"AI Core","parent":"AI Infra · Fabrication, memory & packaging"}],"last_round":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-30T13:55:52.858+00:00","facts_total":37,"positioning":"OpenLight runs the ARM model pointed at light: it licenses a photonics platform, validates it on a real foundry (Tower's PH18DA InP-on-silicon), and lets the industry build the chips rather than manufacturing itself. The asset is heterogeneous integration of III-V devices into silicon: a process design kit covered by more than 360 patents integrating lasers, electro-absorption modulators, semiconductor optical amplifiers and detectors with passives into a single monolithic PASIC, production-ready from day one. Over 20 companies use the PDK. Lineage: the core work traces to Aurrion, a UC Santa Barbara spin-out Juniper acquired in 2016 and spun back out as OpenLight in 2022 after a Synopsys collaboration (Aurrion is already a historical fold under Juniper here). The 2026 record is a clean platform-to-production progression: first volume production orders on PH18DA announced 2026-03-05 for NewPhotonics 800G and 1.6T laser-integrated PICs, initial 3.2T DR8 PIC samples using 448G EAMs in March 2026 with qualification-sample orders for 1.6T, and the PDK extended from Synopsys into Cadence on 2026-08-11. Its 1.6 Tbps DR8 PIC integrates four DFB lasers, eight 224G InP electro-absorption modulators and eight SOAs on one chip. Deployment 3 and production and commercial 1 because it does not manufacture or sell chips itself; the key unknown is whether OpenLight earns per-wafer royalties from Tower.","sub_category":"Photonic foundry & PIC platforms","signals_total":24,"url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/openlight","title":"OpenLight · ai core, Goleta, California, United States · scores, facts and signals · Frontier Tech Intelligence","description":"OpenLight offers an open silicon photonics platform and design kits for Tower's InP-on-silicon process, with integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors. AI Core watchlist (score 72) 24 signals and 37 facts with sources.","publisher":"Frontier Tech Intelligence (Future Frontiers, a trade name of Essential Cognition Inc.)","note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}