NewPhotonics and the EIC Accelerator: Light Instead of DSP Chips

NewPhotonics, founded in January 2020 and based in Petah Tikva, Israel, designs silicon photonic chips for data centres without owning a factory. Its EIC project targeted the electronic signal processors, or DSPs, inside the optical transceivers that connect data centre servers, which it says account for more than half of a transceiver's power and cost. NewPhotonics set out to do the same work in the optical domain, according to CORDIS.

The European Innovation Council granted €2,499,742 towards a €3.58 million project from December 2022 to November 2024. The final report says NewPhotonics built a chip with its own integrated lasers that cuts transceiver power by 65%, went "from a general concept development, through dozen tape-out of sub-system test chips, to production of commercial grade chips" in 24 months, and "booked our first commercial order to supply thousands of Photonic chips". It cites demonstrations with Credo and Intel, a research collaboration with SoftBank and a prize at the ECOC 2024 conference. In January 2026 it launched a 1.6 terabit-per-second transmitter chip for near-packaged optics, TechTime reported.

Where NewPhotonics Stands Now

TechTime called the January 2026 chip "a strategic shift": NewPhotonics had focused on transmitter-on-chip products that upgrade existing pluggable optical modules, and now also offers a chip placed next to processors inside AI servers, with an on-chip laser and 224 Gbps per lane. The report says NewPhotonics joined the LPO-MSA industry group that sets standards for low-power transceivers without DSPs. The company has not published revenue, named the customer behind its first order, or announced a funding round with a disclosed amount.

The Technology: Signal Processing in Light

An optical transceiver converts electrical data into light for fibre links. The DSP inside multiplexes data streams and converts modulation formats, and grows more power-hungry as AI pushes data rates up. NewPhotonics replaces these functions with photonic circuits and adds an "optical equalizer" that it says solves interoperability problems in DSP-free transceivers. It demonstrated 224 Gbps performance over 10 km in September 2023.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The project promised an all-optical chip architecture to replace DSPs. The report describes commercial-grade chips, industry demonstrations and a first volume order, and claims all objectives were met on time. These are company statements; independent test results and the order's customer are not public. CORDIS lists the project as closed.

1. Commercial-grade chipDeliveredPer final report.
2. Industry validationDeliveredCredo, Intel, ECOC prize.
3. First commercial orderCompany-reportedCompany says thousands of chips.
4. Volume revenueUnverifiedNot published.

The Money

NewPhotonics has not announced its funding rounds publicly with amounts, and commercial trackers give different totals, so its funding is not reported here. Whether the EIC Fund invested after the grant has not been disclosed. It has not published accounts.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The report says NewPhotonics made its first test chips at IMEC and other European fabs. The EIC funded an Israeli company in a field, photonics for AI data centres, that is growing fast. Its public record shows technical progress and industry recognition; its commercial scale remains undisclosed.

The Verdict

NewPhotonics and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.