Munich, a city known for its role in technology and innovation, recently hosted Photonica 2025 – the final event of the PhotonHub Europe project. Taking place on 25 June at automatica’s Start-up Arena, happening alongside Laser World of Photonics at Messe München, the half-day gathering served as an important platform to connect promising startups with investors, industry leaders, and potential partners
Photonica was designed as an “Investors Day” under PhotonHub’s mandate to accelerate the commercialisation of photonic technologies across Europe. With over 47,000 visitors attending the surrounding trade fairs, the event benefited from strong visibility within one of the world’s largest innovation showcases for photonics, smart automation, and robotics.
Highlights from the agenda
The event opened with a keynote by Mehrnaz Heidari, Strategic Partnership Manager at Tyndall National Institute – member of PhotonHub Europe’s consortium – and Coordinator of Photonics Ireland, who highlighted the strategic role of photonics in Europe’s future competitiveness. This was followed by a panel discussion on emerging trends and disruptive technologies, with perspectives from academia, research, and venture capital.
At the heart of Photonica was the startup pitching competition, where eight startups, most of them being beneficiaries of PhotonHub Investment Readiness Coaching Program led by FundingBox Accelerator, presented their solutions to a jury of experts and investors. Participants included Lumos Laser, Meet Optics, Photin, Blue Tube, Alcyon Photonics, Quantum Brand Protection, and Hypermemo Oy. Each company was tasked with outlining its innovation, business model, and go-to-market strategy before a jury of investors and experts.
The pitching session was followed by a fireside chat titled The Art of the Deal, where Tomasz Mazuryk, Co-CEO of FundingBox and Martyna Waliszewska, Investment Manager from Invest in Odense, explored agreement structures for European startups and investors, such as equity transfers, convertible notes and SAFE agreements available in the US, currently being developed by the EU under the EUSAFE project.
And the winner is …..
The jury selected Alcyon Photonics as the winner of the pitching competition. Specialising in high-performance integrated photonic circuits (PICs), the startup impressed with its clear market strategy and strong scalability potential. Its proprietary subwavelength grating (SWG) technology enables advanced polarisation management and broad bandwidth, offering applications across telecommunications, sensing, quantum technologies, and data communications.
Jimena García-Romeu, CEO at Alcyon Photonics, said: “We first heard about PhotonHub Europe and the Photonica competition through our network in the European photonics ecosystem, where PhotonHub is widely recognised as a key initiative supporting innovation and startups. We saw it as a unique opportunity to showcase our vision, connect with leading experts and investors, and highlight how our silicon photonics IP can bring real impact to strategic industries in Europe and beyond.”
She then continued: “Winning Photonica is both an honour and a milestone. It validates the relevance of our technology, boosts our confidence as we scale, and gives us stronger momentum in attracting partners and customers. At this stage of our journey, it represents recognition that we are on the right path to make a real impact.”
As a prize, Alcyon Photonics received one-on-one consultation sessions with each jury member, providing valuable access to investor expertise.
A catalyst for visibility and collaboration
Photonica not only highlighted the entrepreneurial talent within Europe’s photonics sector but also provided concrete opportunities for networking and collaboration. A dedicated lunch session encouraged startups, investors, and industry representatives to explore collaborations and new business leads. Early feedback from beneficiaries indicated that even brief interactions had already resulted in promising contacts.
The event also served to showcase the impact of public investment in innovation. By presenting startups supported through an EU-funded initiative, Photonica underlined how public resources are being channelled into fostering entrepreneurship and deep tech development, while providing transparency and accountability in the use of public funding.
Looking ahead
Since 2021, PhotonHub Europe has supported over 100 companies, helping generate more than €750 million in revenues, create 1,000 jobs, and raise €250 million in venture capital. With new investment from the European Commission, its activities will continue under the PhotonHub PHACTORY, providing access to Europe’s leading laboratories, technical expertise, and training.
Photonica 2025 marked the conclusion of PhotonHub Europe’s current programme, reinforcing the project’s role in bridging the gap between deep tech innovation and market deployment. By integrating with major industry fairs and focusing on investor-startup connections, the event set a benchmark for how European photonics can thrive within the global innovation ecosystem.
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement n°101016665, in public-private partnership with Photonics21. To learn more, visit Photonhub’s website.
