Vexlum raises €10m to scale VECSEL laser manufacturing

News: Optoelectronics Vexlum raises €10m to scale VECSEL laser manufacturing To scale its proprietary semiconductor chip manufacturing and laser technology operations in Finland, VEXLUM — which was spun off from Tampere University of Technology’s Optoelectronics Research Centre in 2017 — has secured €10m in funding, consisting of €6m in equity investment led by Kvanted (a Nordic venture capital firm focused on industrial technology), with participation from Finnish state-owned Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) and the EIC Fund, alongside a €2.4m grant from the EIC Accelerator, and a €1.6m loan from Nordea. Vexlum’s semiconductor-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) technology addresses a critical bottleneck: the lack of compact, cost-effective, high-power laser sources at precise wavelengths. Applications such as atomic clocks and quantum computers, as well as next-generation semiconductor metrology and free-space optical communication technology, all rely heavily on lasers. Now, Vexlum is expanding its manufacturing capabilities in Finland to ensure quality and speed as it responds to strong market demand following the introduction of several product lines. “Securing and scaling our semiconductor fabrication infrastructure is critical for the market’s evolution. It allows us to ensure that the laser quality and reliability meet our customers’ stringent requirements,” says CEO & co-founder Jussi-Pekka Penttinen. “We are moving beyond boutique production to industrial-scale capability. This funding allows us to bring our semiconductor manufacturing into a new, expanded facility here in Tampere and scale our capacity to meet the demand from the quantum, semiconductor, and space sectors.” Vexlum utilizes molecular beam epitaxy of III-V materials including gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and gallium antimonide to produce laser wafers for specific wavelengths. “Tampere has emerged as a leading hub for optoelectronics and III-V semiconductor technology, building on a strong foundation of world-class academic research and a proven ability to translate it into industrial innovation,” says chairman & co-founder Mircea Guina. “This investment round represents a decisive step in scaling our ambitions, securing a leading position for Tampere and Finland in the advanced semiconductor industry.” The financing represents a significant milestone for the Nordic deep-tech ecosystem, standing as potentially the largest seed round ever raised by a photonics company in the region, it is reckoned. The funding will drive Vexlum’s growth strategy, which is aiming for €100m in revenue by 2030. Kvanted sees Vexlum as a prime example of the Tampere region’s deep-tech engineering prowess in laser technology. “We are investing in a semiconductor manufacturer that has cracked the code on scaling high-power, precise wavelengths for the world’s most difficult problems,” comments Axel Ahlström, founding partner at Kvanted. Currently a major supplier for trapped-ion quantum computers, Vexlum’s ability to manufacture lasers across diverse wavelengths allows it to power solutions far beyond quantum labs. For example, the technology is also being developed to make satellite optical communications more reliable, to enable next-generation optical atomic clocks that aim to redefine the precision of timekeeping, and for other uses where specific laser colors are needed. “The quantum ecosystem has taught us that extreme precision is only valuable if it can be delivered reliably and at scale. We are now taking those hard-won lessons and applying them to the broader photonics landscape,” says Penttinen. “Whether for satellite communications or semiconductor metrology, we are proving that the rigorous architecture developed for quantum computers is the same engine needed to drive the next generation of industrial innovation.” VEXLUM orders Riber MBE 412 cluster system Quantum computingMBEwww.vexlum.com