Morphotonics, a European deep-tech company, has closed a €40m Series B after a difficult fundraising process, and CEO Hugo da Silva says the money will fund hiring top engineers.
Da Silva says the company's goal is now to convert its existing pipeline rather than pursue new customers, after narrowing from ten to fifteen applications to one or two.
Da Silva argues that doing everything from Europe has become extremely difficult because much of the AI glasses and device supply chain sits in Korea and Taiwan, so Morphotonics has built commercial teams in the US, China, Taiwan and Korea.
Morphotonics raises €40m to build the optics inside AI glasses
Morphotonics is betting that its nanoimprint equipment can make the waveguides for AI smart glasses at both high precision and high volume. After narrowing from many applications to one or two, it raised a €40m Series B to turn its existing pipeline into sales. The bet rests on speed and proximity to Asian manufacturing, and on cost falling the way it did for TVs.
Takeaways
Morphotonics makes the waveguide equipment for AI glasses. Its nanoimprint lithography imprints nanostructures from about 20 to a few hundred microns. These build waveguides, which mix projector light into the holographic image in smart glasses, turning an AI device's data into something a person can see.
A €40m Series B funds engineers and pipeline conversion. The round closed after a difficult process that ran alongside sales and installations. Money goes to hiring top engineers. The company has launched a waveguide technology for AI glasses and sold its first high-volume equipment to an Asian customer.
Narrowing from fifteen applications to one or two. When da Silva joined as CEO two years ago, the company chased ten to fifteen applications. It now focuses on the one or two where its technology adds the most value, and the goal is converting existing pipeline rather than finding new customers.
Winning requires being close to Asian manufacturing. Much of the supply chain sits in Korea and Taiwan, so serving it from Europe alone is extremely difficult. Morphotonics built commercial teams in the US, China, Taiwan and Korea, because local people let it move fast.
Good enough, shipped fast, beats perfect. Da Silva says a perfect solution can take ten years while a good enough one takes one. He cites the first iPhone, not a great phone, now about 17 or 18 generations on, and places Morphotonics in the good enough camp that can scale.
Cost is the main barrier to mass-market AI glasses. Many expect around 100m devices within three to four years, and about 4bn people wear glasses. Early LCD TVs cost about €10,000 against €400 to €500 now. He expects a precise, scalable technology to close the gap.
Data-centre optics is an early, uncertain adjacent market. Customers are pushing the company toward co-packaged optics, where light connects chips and could cut data-centre energy use. The needs resemble waveguides, but Morphotonics is new to the market, still investigating, and declines to size it.
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