Ephos Raises $8.5M Seed Round and Opens World’s First Facility for the Design and Production of Glass-Based Quantum Photonic Chips
The new Milan facility will deliver glass-based photonic chips at scale, ushering in a new era of quantum and light-based computational infrastructure: free from a reliance on international supply chains
MILAN, SAN FRANCISCO—September 23, 2024—Ephos, the leading producer of glass-based photonic chips, today announces a major expansion of its operations: an $8.5M funding round and the opening of a state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facility in Milan, the world’s first dedicated to producing glass-based quantum photonic circuits. The funding included non-dilutive components from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA); being chosen as one of just 10 companies out of a pool exceeding 1,300 applicants.
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, Unruly Capital, Green Sands Equity, Silicon Roundabout Ventures, and Club degli Investitori, as well as angel investors Joe Zadeh (former Vice President at Airbnb), Diego Piacentini (former Senior Vice President at Amazon), and Simone Severini (General Manager, Quantum Technologies, Amazon Web Services).
