CamGraPhIC founders: Marco Romagnoli (left) and Andrea Ferrari (right). Image credit: CamGraPhIC.
Cambridge-based university spinout CamGraPhIC has been awarded €211 million (£183 million) in funding from the Italian government after the package received approval from the European Commission.
The funding, approved under EU state aid rules, will support the development of a new generation of photonic optical transceivers built using graphene rather than traditional silicon. The devices are designed to dramatically improve the speed and energy efficiency of data transfer in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) and telecommunications to automotive, aerospace and defence.
CamGraPhIC – short for Cambridge Graphene Photonic Integrated Circuits – was co-founded by Professor Andrea Ferrari, Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre, and Dr Marco Romagnoli, formerly of Italy’s National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT).
The company is developing photonic circuits that use light instead of electricity to send and receive data inside computer chips. By replacing silicon with graphene, the transceivers are expected to deliver faster performance while using significantly less energy.
Graphene chips aimed at AI and high-performance computing
Optical transceivers are critical components in modern data centres, allowing information to move rapidly between processors, graphics chips and memory. As demand for generative AI and high-performance computing continues to rise, existing silicon-based systems are coming under pressure to handle ever-larger volumes of data.
CamGraPhIC says its graphene-based transceivers can consume up to 80% less energy than conventional pluggable optical transceivers used in data centres. The company also claims the technology offers greater bandwidth density and lower latency, making it particularly suitable for transferring data between graphics processing units (GPUs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
Those connections are increasingly important for training and running AI systems, which require enormous amounts of data to move between chips at extremely high speed.
Unlike many current technologies, the new transceivers can operate across a broad temperature range. This means they do not require the complex and expensive cooling systems often needed in large-scale computing facilities.
The company says the integration of graphene into the photonic structure also simplifies the design of the devices, potentially making them cheaper and easier to manufacture at scale.
New manufacturing facility planned in Italy
The €211 million grant will be delivered directly to CamGraPhIC and used to support a collaborative research and manufacturing project in Pisa and Bergamo.
The project will bring together universities, research institutions and technology organisations to accelerate the commercialisation of graphene photonic transceivers. A major part of the funding is expected to go towards establishing a dedicated manufacturing facility for the chips.
Professor Ferrari described the decision as a landmark moment both for CamGraPhIC and for the wider University of Cambridge innovation ecosystem.
“I am delighted that the European Commission has approved the Italian state aid measure worth €211 million to support the development of graphene-based photonic chips by CamGraPhIC,” he said.
“I believe this to be the largest single grant ever made to a University of Cambridge spinout. It will enable the establishment of a manufacturing facility for these new cutting-edge devices.”
The grant comes only months after CamGraPhIC secured a further €25 million in private investment. That funding round was co-led by CDP Venture Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, Sony Innovation Fund and Join Capital, with additional backing from Bosch Ventures, Frontier IP Group and Indaco Ventures.
Strategic importance for Europe’s semiconductor industry
The European Commission’s approval is being seen as a sign of growing support for semiconductor technologies developed within Europe.
Antonio Avitabile, Managing Director of Sony Ventures EMEA, said the funding demonstrates the strategic importance of graphene photonics for Europe’s future industrial competitiveness.
“This announcement represents an important milestone, marking the first concrete step in the project’s progression,” he said.
“The decision highlights the strategic importance of graphene photonics for the European semiconductor ecosystem and the project’s potential contribution to technological progress in the automotive, telecommunications and aerospace sectors.”
The investment comes as Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on overseas semiconductor suppliers and strengthen its position in emerging technologies linked to AI, advanced communications and defence.
If successful, CamGraPhIC’s graphene transceivers could place both Cambridge and Italy at the centre of a new wave of semiconductor innovation, offering faster, more energy-efficient alternatives to today’s silicon-based chips.
Adapted from a story originally published on the University of Cambridge website.