NcodiN, a Paris based deep tech startup, has closed an oversubscribed €16 million seed round to accelerate its transition from research to industrial deployment. The company is developing optical interposer technology that integrates nanolasers directly on silicon to overcome the limits of traditional electrical interconnects. With this capital, NcodiN is positioning itself as a key enabler for the next generation of AI computing infrastructure.
Seed Round Fuels Industrial Push
The equity round was led by MIG Capital, with participation from Maverick Silicon, PhotonVentures, and Verve Ventures, alongside continued backing from Elaia, Earlybird, and OVNI. Proceeds will fund product development, key engineering hires, and the industrialization of NcodiN’s technology on a 300 millimeter CMOS pilot line. The company will also invest in building out its supply chain and deepening partnerships with early customers as it prepares for large scale adoption.
Breaking the Copper Wall in AI Systems
NcodiN’s core platform, NConnect, is a new class of photonic interposers designed to overcome what the industry calls the copper wall, the speed and energy limits of electrical interconnects. At the heart of this platform is what the company describes as the world’s smallest laser, which enables extremely dense optical integration without forcing chipmakers to redesign existing processor architectures. By replacing long copper links with energy efficient optical connections, NcodiN aims to allow supercomputer level performance to be packed into a single processor.
Industrialization, Global Expansion, and CEO Vision
The new funding will support an industrial pilot that demonstrates compatibility with advanced packaging techniques used in state of the art GPUs and AI accelerators. NcodiN also plans to open a presence in Silicon Valley, expand its research and development capacity, and grow its team in anticipation of major manufacturing partnerships. Chief executive and cofounder Francesco Manegatti describes the company’s role as delivering the missing piece for AI factories, enabling extremely high memory bandwidth and wafer scale superchips networked across tens of chiplets.
Momentum, Technical Milestones, and Advisor Bench
Over the past 18 months, NcodiN has built strong momentum by demonstrating proof of concept nanolasers with record energy efficiency below 0.1 picojoules per bit, integrated nanodetectors, and full optical links on silicon. In parallel, the company has established an independent cleanroom that serves as a hub for rapid prototyping and joint development programs with industry partners. To reinforce its strategy, NcodiN has added high profile advisors, including photonics pioneer Eli Yablonovitch, former ARM and Intel executive Gus Yeung, and silicon photonics veteran Peter de Dobbelaere.
Investor Perspectives and Market Context
Investors highlight memory bandwidth as a defining bottleneck for next generation AI systems, where copper based interconnects increasingly struggle to deliver the required reach and efficiency. Backers such as Maverick Silicon and MIG Capital see NcodiN’s photonic interposers as a way to unlock memory capacity and bandwidth beyond copper’s limits, enabling architectures that can keep pace with the growth of generative AI, big data, and specialized hardware. Existing investor Elaia emphasizes that by pairing the world’s smallest laser with a new optical network fabric, NcodiN is positioned to drive the next leap in AI and hyperscale performance.
Company and Lead Investor Background
Founded in 2023 in Paris, NcodiN focuses on optical interconnects tailored for the coming era of massive, heterogeneous compute systems. By integrating ultra compact lasers on silicon, the company seeks to push beyond the speed and energy constraints of copper and provide an optical backbone that scales computing infrastructure more efficiently and sustainably. Lead investor MIG Capital is a German venture capital firm that has deployed more than €770 million across around 60 deep tech and life sciences startups, spanning sectors such as advanced computing, energy and environmental technologies, medical technology, and digital health.
NcodiN’s seed round marks a significant step in the race to rearchitect AI hardware around more efficient and scalable interconnect technologies. With fresh capital, an expanding technical team, and guidance from seasoned photonics and semiconductor leaders, the company is moving quickly from laboratory validation to industrial readiness. If its photonic interposer platform delivers at scale, NcodiN could become a foundational player in enabling the high bandwidth AI factories of the coming decade.