Scintil Photonics has closed a $58 million Series B funding round, marking a significant milestone for the integrated photonics company. The round was co-led by Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital, with notable participation from NVIDIA. Additional backing came from BNP Paribas Développement, alongside existing investors including Supernova Invest, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Innovacom, Bosch Ventures, and Applied Ventures ITIC Innovation Fund.
The French company specializes in heterogeneous integrated photonics technology designed specifically for AI infrastructure needs. This latest investment demonstrates strong confidence in Scintil's ability to address the growing demands of next-generation data centers and AI factories worldwide.
The artificial intelligence boom has created unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency optical solutions. Traditional networking approaches struggle to keep pace with the massive data requirements of modern GPU clusters. Scintil's technology directly tackles these bottlenecks with integrated photonic solutions that deliver superior performance while reducing energy consumption.
"This investment marks a pivotal moment for Scintil as we move to full-scale deployment," said Matt Crowley, CEO of Scintil Photonics. "Our SHIP™ technology enables integrated photonic solutions with the scalability, energy efficiency, and integration density required to power next-generation compute infrastructure. This efficiency not only reduces data center operating costs but also contributes to lowering the carbon footprint of AI infrastructure. With LEAF Light™ entering high-volume production, we're expanding from our base in Grenoble into the international markets, including the U.S., to support the world's most advanced AI factories."
The new funding will primarily support Scintil's expansion efforts across multiple fronts. The company plans significant hiring increases both in France and internationally, with particular focus on establishing a stronger presence in the United States market.
Production scaling represents another key priority. With their LEAF Light™ product entering high-volume manufacturing, Scintil needs additional resources to meet growing customer demand. The funding enables the company to accelerate production timelines while maintaining quality standards essential for AI infrastructure applications.
Founded as a spin-off from CEA-Leti, a leading semiconductor research institute, Scintil has developed what it calls the industry's first single-chip DWDM light engine. This technology integrates multiple wavelength lasers with silicon photonics on a single chip, replacing dozens of traditionally separate components.
The company's proprietary SHIP™ platform enables this integration by combining various optical devices including lasers, photodiodes, and modulators. This approach delivers performance levels that were previously impossible with conventional solutions.
"We developed our LEAF Light™ integrated circuit in close collaboration with our customers. Used as an external laser source for Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) transmissions, it is a key component for the next generation of AI data centers. Its uniqueness lies in a single-chip solution that monolithically integrates precisely spaced DFB lasers on silicon photonic circuits, produced through a robust commercial supply chain," said Sylvie Menezo, Founder and CTO of Scintil Photonics. "Our SHIP™ technology provides a strong and disruptive foundation to expand our portfolio of integrated photonic circuit solutions for the coming decades."
The investor lineup reflects broad confidence in Scintil's market position and technology platform. Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital's co-leadership of the round brings significant expertise in deep-tech investments and scaling operations.
"Scintil exemplifies the kind of innovation leaders we look for, combining advanced manufacturing, deep-tech leadership, and meaningful impact on the energy demands of AI infrastructure," said Vincent Deltrieu, Managing Partner at Yotta Capital Partners. "Scintil's integrated photonics platform is essential to scale the next generation of AI factories. We're excited to support their global growth as they move to high-volume shipments."
"Integrated photonics is becoming a foundation of all AI infrastructure, and Scintil is turning that future into reality," said Bo Ilsoe, Managing Partner at NGP Capital. "Their technology delivers the bandwidth density and energy efficiency AI factories require with global scalability. We're excited to support Scintil as they scale deployments and become a leading player in building the next wave of compute and data infrastructure."
Industry analysts also recognize the market potential. Alan Weckel from 650 Group noted that scale-up networking represents an incremental opportunity for vendors, with the market set to exceed $25 billion by 2029. The broader AI networking opportunity could approach $100 billion annually by decade's end. Daryl Inniss from Omdia emphasized that DWDM co-packaged optics serves as a key differentiator for connecting thousands of GPUs at the bandwidth density requirements of next-generation AI infrastructure.
