Market Insight
Photonics at the inflection point: from potential to purpose
By Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO, PhotonDelta I
ntegrated photonics is evolving from an emerging technology into enabling infrastructure for industries ranging from AI to healthcare. At PIC Summit Europe 2025, I felt a decisive shift in our conversations: we moved from discussing “what if” to delivering “what’s next”. Over two days in Eindhoven, leaders from across the global photonic chip ecosystem - startups, research institutions, scale-ups, and multinationals - came together to showcase progress, confront challenges and explore the road ahead. What emerged was clear to me: our industry is no longer driven solely by scientific promise. It is now defined by execution, ecosystem maturity, and applications that truly matter.
From infrastructure to impact In opening the Summit, I reflected on how far we’ve come. Over the past years, sustained investments, supportive policies, and deliberate ecosystem-building have laid a strong foundation. Now, the priority must shift - from infrastructure to impact.
At PhotonDelta, catalysed by significant Dutch public funding through the Nationaal Groeifonds, we are stewarding a rapidly
growing Dutch and European ecosystem. Our mandate is not only to advance photonic chip technology, but to scale its production, accelerate adoption, and ensure industrial relevance.
This emphasis on practical impact echoed throughout the Summit. Again and again, speakers demonstrated how photonic chips are powering next-generation compute infrastructure, addressing energy challenges, and enabling smarter, more sustainable systems.
Quantum computing: an alliance with integrated photonics A major theme on Day 1 was the deepening relationship between integrated photonics and quantum technologies. Contributions from Quix Quantum, imec, IonQ, and others reinforced a reality that is increasingly undisputed: photonics is not merely complementary to quantum, it is essential. Photonics delivers speed, low power consumption, and low noise - characteristics that are critical for scalable quantum
systems. As one speaker put it, quantum cannot scale without the precision, integration, and manufacturability that photonic chips provide.
For me, the message was unmistakable. Photonic chips are becoming foundational elements of emerging quantum architectures, and cross-domain partnerships are accelerating this progress.
From research to reality: the rise of applications
Day 2 turned our attention firmly toward applications and commercial maturity. We saw compelling examples of integrated photonics moving decisively into real- world use. Perceptra unveiled a compact, affordable Raman spectrometer powered by photonic chips, now entering the prototype phase. SiPhox Health shared its vision for lab-grade blood diagnostics delivered through home-use devices, made possible by photonic integration.
Lely demonstrated how photonics-based sensors are advancing sustainable farming, from soil monitoring to yield optimisation. These are not speculative concepts. They are viable, tested systems in active development. They show, clearly, that integrated photonics is already touching everyday applications.
14 December/January 2026 Components in Electronics
www.cieonline.co.uk
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