Observed Signal · Sep 2, 2026 · Funding · Source: Trending Topics (DACH/CEE Innovation & Tech) · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
iPronics Raises $125M from Nvidia and Others
iPronics, a Spanish photonics startup based in Valencia, has raised $125 million (€107.57 million) in a Series B round co-led by Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital, with participation from Nvidia and other investors. The company develops optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers, offering low-latency, power-efficient network reconfiguration to improve GPU utilization and address bandwidth constraints. Total funding now stands at $177 million (€152.3 million), which will be used to shrink hardware by 20x, scale operations, and accelerate commercial rollout. iPronics, a spin-off from the Technical University of Valencia, has opened an office in Santa Clara, California, and partnered with Fabrinet for manufacturing. CEO Christian Dupont will lead commercialization, while CTO Daniel Pérez-López highlights growing demand for self-reconfiguring networks, positioning iPronics as a key player beyond Google's in-house optical switching.
Major Series B funding for photonics startup with Nvidia participation signals growing investment in optical networking for AI infrastructure.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- iPronics raised $125 million (€107.57 million) in Series B funding, co-led by Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital.
- Nvidia participated in the round, bringing total funding to $177 million (€152.3 million).
- The company's optical circuit switch enables sub-300 microsecond reconfiguration and improves GPU utilization.
- iPronics has opened a US office in Santa Clara, California, and partnered with Fabrinet.
- Funds will be used to shrink hardware by 20x and accelerate commercial deployment.
Connected Companies & Entities
6 Entities mapped“The round is co-led by Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital, with new and existing backers including ... Nvidia....”
“has set up a dedicated packaging and assembly line with contract manufacturer Fabrinet for its next OCS generation....”
“Young Sohn sits on the boards of Arm and Cadence Design Systems....”
“The technology became widely known through Google, which uses optical switches in its TPU clusters....”
“Young Sohn ... served as corporate president and chief strategy officer at Samsung....”
“with new and existing backers including ... Amadeus Capital Partners, ......”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Nvidia Invests Billions in Photonics for AI
Nvidia has committed at least $6.5 billion since March 2026 into companies developing photonics — the use of light to transmit data — as it seeks to overcome energy and bandwidth bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. Investments include a $2 billion program into Lumentum, Coherent and Marvell, a $500 million commitment to Corning, and participation in Ayer Labs’ $500 million Series E. CEO Jensen Huang said at GTC that silicon photonics capacity must be scaled well beyond current global supply. Analysts say photonics can reduce energy costs and enable rack-scale GPU connectivity, but large-scale deployment faces manufacturing and packaging yield challenges; some experts expect broad adoption in the second half of the decade (around 2028+).
Nvidia Pumps $4 Billion into Photonics for AI Revolution
Nvidia announced a combined $4 billion investment into two U.S. photonics companies—$2 billion in Lumentum and $2 billion in Coherent—aimed at strengthening research pipelines and supply chains for AI infrastructure. The agreements include multi-year strategic arrangements with multi‑billion dollar purchase commitments and future capacity or access rights for advanced laser, silicon photonics and optical networking components. Nvidia said the collaborations will advance silicon photonics to support next‑generation, gigawatt‑scale AI data centers. Shares of Lumentum and Coherent rose sharply on the news, and Nvidia stock also gained. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s founder and CEO, framed the moves as securing sophisticated silicon photonics for large‑scale AI factory builds.
Morphotonics raises €40M for display tech, data center expansion
Dutch nanoimprint lithography company Morphotonics has raised over €40 million in Series B funding to scale production of its display technology and expand into optical components for data centers. The round included continued backing from 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, and BOM, with Invest-NL as a major new investor, alongside the EIC Fund, Ernij Next, and the European Investment Bank. Morphotonics specializes in large-area nanoimprint lithography, particularly its Cypris platform, for manufacturing waveguides used in AR glasses like Meta Ray-Ban Display, Even Reality, and Magic Leap. The funding will boost production capacity, product development, and team growth. The company has doubled headcount to 60 since September 2024, its next machine can produce over 6 million waveguides annually (shipping early 2027), and it is also targeting co-packaged optics for data centers, with hardware sales currently making up 90% of revenue.
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