Ephos, a producer of glass-based photonic chips, has raised an $8.5M seed funding round and will open a research and manufacturing facility in Milan, the world’s first dedicated to producing glass-based quantum photonic circuits. In addition, Ephos has received funding from the EU and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA).

The seed round was led by Starlight Ventures, a US venture capital firm specializing in deep tech investments, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, 2100 Ventures, and Unruly Capital, among others, as well as angel investors Joe Zadeh (former Vice President at Airbnb), and Diego Piacentini (former Senior Vice President at Amazon).

The funding has accelerated the launch of its new research and manufacturing facility located in the Milano Innovation District (MIND), one of Europe’s most ambitious technology hubs, which will serve as a central hub for R&D, production, and collaboration. The new site marks a significant milestone in Ephos’s growth and provides the space and resources necessary to scale its proprietary chip manufacturing technology as it expands its partnerships across the quantum technologies industry. Alongside its Milan headquarters and new manufacturing facility, the funding will also go towards operating and growing its San Francisco team.

Setting the company apart from traditional chip manufacturers using silicon-based technologies, Ephos designs and builds glass-based photonic chips. Ephos’s technology increases the speed and energy efficiency of advanced quantum computing, communications, and sensing devices. Built on glass substrates, Ephos’s chips reduce signal loss, one of the greatest hurdles to building a quantum computer. This is because in quantum computing, information cannot be duplicated or copied and so, above a certain level of signal loss, creating a new signal to replace a lost one is impossible.

Photonic technologies have a wide range of classical applications beyond quantum computing, including within data centers where photonic chips are increasingly being used to reduce soaring energy footprints. Energy demands are becoming a major concern as the AI revolution continues to place a strain on data centers, with Goldman Sachs estimating that data center power usage will grow 160% by 2030.

With its chips being built entirely in-house and the company’s supply chain relying exclusively on US and EU suppliers, Ephos’s technology reinforces Allied security interests, offering a unique geopolitical advantage. By ensuring that critical quantum infrastructure is developed within NATO’s emerging tech ecosystem, Ephos helps safeguard strategic independence in quantum technologies, a vital area for future defense and communications. As such, in addition to the seed round, on September 10 2024, Ephos received €450,000 non-dilutive funding from NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA).

“Securing this funding and opening our Milan facility is a critical milestone for Ephos. Our glass-based photonic chips are set to transform not just quantum computing and AI, but the broader computational infrastructure of the future” comments Andrea Rocchetto, CEO and co-founder at Ephos.By addressing energy inefficiencies and enhancing performance across industries, from data centers to secure communications, we’re laying the foundation for the next generation of computing technology. We see tremendous potential in Ephos’s glass-based photonic chips to revolutionize the future of computing,” said Kike Miralles, Principal at Starlight Ventures.

“As AI and quantum advancements challenge the limits of our current infrastructure, Ephos stands out with its ability to significantly reduce signal loss and improve energy efficiency. This innovation not only meets the growing demands for faster, more efficient platforms but also opens the door to new possibilities in quantum computing and communication technologies across multiple industries.”