Optalysys, the pioneering photonic chip maker, has raised an impressive £21 million in Series A funding. This substantial investment will fuel the advancement of their Enable photonic computing technology, unlocking the revolutionary potential of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) for secure processing.
Backing this innovative company is the renowned Agnelli family through Lingotto, owned by Exor, the Agnelli family holding company. Leading the funding round are Lingotto, imec.xpand, and Northern Gritstone, demonstrating the widespread belief in Optalysys's vision.
FHE, a quantum-secure cryptographic technique, eliminates the need to decrypt data before processing. This breakthrough enables the safe transmission of sensitive information over untrusted networks and allows multiple parties to work on data without exposing its content.
Traditionally, encrypted data incurs significant processing delays. However, Optalysys utilizes an advanced photonic semiconductor that accelerates the FHE process, ensuring encrypted data can be processed at speeds comparable to unencrypted data. This breakthrough promises to deploy FHE at the scale required by the largest secure data applications.
Ashish Kaushik, Partner at Lingotto, expresses excitement about Optalysys's semiconductor technology, emphasizing its potential to reduce energy consumption, enhance processing power, and bolster data security. By harnessing the power of photonic computing, Optalysys will usher in new markets with advancements in encrypted AI, bringing a new era of trust and security to data usage.
With the newly acquired funds, Optalysys plans to launch its technology through a cloud-based service model, partnering with system integrators and service providers. Additionally, initial photonic systems will be made available to end-users via an Accelerator program, offering a glimpse of the future ahead of the production of high-speed Enable chips within 24 months. The company will also expand its teams across Europe and the United States, reinforcing its global presence.
Dr. Nick New, co-founder, and CEO of Optalysys, highlights the transformative potential of Fully Homomorphic Encryption and acknowledges its current limitations. However, Optalysys's Enable technology acts as a catalyst, accelerating workflows and overcoming the obstacles that hinder FHE's widespread adoption.
The £21 million Series A funding signifies a significant milestone for Optalysys, propelling the company toward the forefront of secure photonic computing. Their vision of unlocking the true value of data through advanced encryption processes paves the way for a future where privacy, security, and innovation converge seamlessly.
