A total of €75 million will be up for grabs for photonics startups at the InPho Venture Summit, to take place on 6-7 October in Bordeaux, France.
Twenty three European and North American photonics companies have been selected to pitch their technology to a panel of venture capitalists and corporate investors at the biennial conference, formerly known as Invest in Photonics.
The startups will be looking to secure funding in key areas of photonics including smart vehicles, innovative medicine, datacoms/telecoms, and the energy sector.
The aim of the conference is to boost private investment in photonics in Europe, which, Hervé Floch, general manager of Route des Lasers and one of the organisers of the summit, noted is falling behind that made in North America and Asia.
Among the companies taking part will be Canadian firm Aeponyx, which is developing micro-optical switches for telecoms, while French startup Cascade Light Technology is working on industrialised optical technologies for improved photovoltaics.
Companies such as Poietis and TeraView will be showcasing several world-first photonics innovations in InPho’s new Disruptive Technologies session. Poietis provides 3D bioprinting of living human tissue to support researchers and physicians, whereas TeraView harnesses the properties of terahertz light to give 3D images and spectroscopy measurements.
‘On show will be cutting-edge technologies capable of disrupting large existing markets, and creating new ones,’ said Paul Thurk, managing director of Arch Venture Partners. ‘Fifty years from now, people will look back and point to companies such as Poetis, Teraview... as true game-changers of our time.’
The InPho Venture Summit attracts corporate venture capitalists business angels, financial institutions and global industry players from Europe and North America.
‘We are really excited by this year’s line up of 23 firms, which have strong market drivers and highly skilled management behind their technologies,’ said George Ugras, chairman of the InPho Venture Summit and managing director of the IBM Venture Capital Group. ‘Attendees will also be thrilled by our line-up panellists from Samsung Ventures, Ciena, Total Ventures, EDF, Schneider, PSA Group, Legrand, the European Investment Fund and a host of other leading firms. As a technological hub, Bordeaux is increasingly drawing top talent to the area.’
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