Optimum customer Vector Photonics confirms £2.4m equity investment.

27 January 2023

The Glasgow University start up has now received over £6m of seed funding.

Vector Photonics has received £2.4 million of equity investment to further commercialise its unique, all-semiconductor PCSEL technology. PCSELs (Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers) revolutionise semiconductor laser manufacture and performance, reducing power consumption, latency, physical connection size and costs. The company is targeting the datacoms market, where its lasers significantly reduce the power consumption in next-generation datacentres and co-located optics applications. In future, PCSEL technology will also enable significant performance breakthroughs in metal and plastic printing, LiDAR, and optical sensing – some of the fastest growing technology markets in the world.

Nick Bowden, MD at Optimum, said, “We are pleased to announce that Optimum customer, Vector Photonics, has received £2.4 million of equity investment. The investment allows the company to continue with the commercialisation of its unique laser technology. Optimum has worked with Vector Photonics' Sales and Marketing director, Euan Livingston, to raise the profile of the University of Glasgow spin-out within the compound semiconductor industry and within the investment community. The resulting investment is testament to the effectiveness of this work. A great result for a ground-breaking technology."

Clean Growth Fund are the major investor, followed by the Foresight WAE Technology (FWT) Funds, with further investment support from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), Scottish Enterprise and Equity Gap, who led this investment round.

Clean Growth Fund and Scottish Enterprise are new investors in Vector Photonics. Clean Growth Fund is focused on clean tech companies which reduce carbon emissions and support a sustainable future, with Vector Photonics being the first Scottish company in its portfolio. Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s national economic development agency and works to transform the Scottish economy by helping businesses innovate and scale.

The remaining investors have been involved with Vector Photonics from the start. The FWT Funds invest in high growth-potential companies with innovative and transformational technologies; UKI2S is a specialist deep-tech seed fund focused on spin outs from the UK’s research base; and Equity Gap is an angel investment syndicate, investing at an early stage in new technology businesses throughout Scotland.

The investors:

  • Clean Growth Fund
  • Foresight WAE Technology (FWT) Funds
  • Scottish Enterprise
  • Equity Gap
  • UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S)

IMAGE: Left to Right. Euan Livingston, Sales and Marketing Director; Neil Martin, CEO; Dr. Richard Taylor, CTO and lead inventor - Vector Photonics