As AI workloads continue to experience explosive growth, the race to build faster, greener, and more efficient data centres is intensifying. Scintil Photonics, a Grenoble-based fabless semiconductor startup, just secured $58 million in a Series B funding round to expand production of its integrated photonics platform designed for AI data centres.
The round was led by Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital, with strategic investment from NVIDIA and additional backing from BNP Paribas Développement and other technology-focused funds.
Integrating multiple photonic components onto a single manufacturable chip
Founded by Sylvie Menezo, who also serves as CTO, Scintil emerged from the semiconductor research ecosystem at CEA-Leti, one of Europe’s premier institutions in semiconductor and photonics research.
Menezo and her team set out to solve the persistent challenge of integrating multiple photonic components (lasers, modulators, photodetectors) onto a single manufacturable chip. The mission is focused on delivering scalable, energy-efficient optical interconnects that can meet the surging bandwidth demands of large-scale GPU clusters powering AI workloads.
Behind Scintil Photonics: SHIP process technology
At the heart of Scintil’s innovation is its Scintil Heterogeneous Integrated Photonics (SHIP) process technology. SHIP employs a unique BackSide-on-BOX bonding technique to monolithically integrate distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, silicon photonic modulators, germanium photodetectors, and waveguides on a single chip.
Their flagship LEAF Light chip, built on the SHIP platform, offers industry-leading bandwidth density of 6.4 terabits per second per millimetre and consumes roughly one-sixth the power of traditional pluggable optical solutions. LEAF Light targets scale-up GPU clusters and co-packaged optics architectures with a manufacturable, scalable design that has earned the trust of leading AI infrastructure customers.
Scintil’s technology stands out in a competitive silicon photonics landscape that includes players such as Sicoya, SmartPhotonics, and AIO Core. What differentiates Scintil is its manufacturable, foundry-aligned single-chip solution that efficiently integrates multiple laser sources, combined with a strong foundation in deep tech research and production scale.
What’s next?
The $58 million funding will accelerate high-volume production, broaden international operations beyond Grenoble to strategic hubs like the U.S., and rapidly expand engineering and customer integration teams.
Beyond AI data centres, Scintil’s integrated photonics platform has potential applications in high-performance computing, telecommunications, and emerging quantum technologies, reflecting a broader strategic vision.
