Wave Photonics and the EIC Accelerator: Design Kits for Light Chips

Wave Photonics, incorporated in Cambridge in 2021, builds process design kits, the component libraries and models that designers use to lay out photonic integrated circuits for a particular foundry and wavelength, using its own design technology to make them tolerant of manufacturing variation. Photonic chips carry signals as light, for datacentre links, sensors and quantum computers. The company was selected in the EIC Accelerator's March 2023 cut-off for a grant-only award for "the platform to unleash the transformative potential of integrated photonics", according to Wave Photonics. As a UK company, its project does not appear in CORDIS, so the grant amount, goals and reports are not public.

In June 2024 Wave Photonics raised £4.5 million in a seed round led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Cambridge Enterprise, "complemented by non-dilutive funding via EIC and Innovate UK grants", taking total funding to £5.4 million, according to Wave Photonics. In March 2025 it acquired the intellectual property of Phoelex, including modulator and driver circuit designs for optical interconnects, and in 2025 it launched a PDK Management Platform with the CORNERSTONE foundry as first user, according to Optica.

Where Wave Photonics Stands Now

Wave Photonics employed 14 people on average in the year to May 2025, up from 10, and its equity fell from £2.05 million to £1.32 million, according to accounts filed at Companies House. Its fixed assets rose from £26,109 to £297,644 in the same year, the period of the Phoelex acquisition. Its news page lists a steady stream of integrations with design tools from Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens, foundry partnerships and a project with Cardiff University on the UK's first gallium nitride photonic process. Revenue is not public.

The Technology: Making Photonic Chips Easier to Design

Photonic chip designers depend on a foundry's design kit, which describes what structures its process can reliably make. Wave Photonics generates kits for new materials and wavelengths in weeks, it says, and its platform connects them to the design software engineers already use. Its quantum design kit covers wavelengths from 493 nm to 1,550 nm.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised a platform for integrated photonics. The company has launched such a platform and grown its product range, which matches the aim. Because the project is outside CORDIS, its budget, milestones and results cannot be compared with what was delivered.

1. Public project recordNoneNot in CORDIS.
2. Design kit platformLaunched2025, CORNERSTONE first.
3. EDA integrationsDeliveredSynopsys, Cadence, Siemens.
4. Commercial scaleUnverifiedRevenue not public.

The Money

The EIC grant amount is not public; the company counts it within its £5.4 million total funding to mid-2024. Equity fell by about £724,000 in the year to May 2025, a rough guide to spending beyond income. No round since the 2024 seed has been announced.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Photonic chips matter for AI datacentres and quantum computers. Tools that make them easier to design for help the whole industry. Wave Photonics is building that layer from Cambridge; the EIC's part in it is not documented publicly.

The Verdict

Wave Photonics and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.