The Italian deeptech company developing graphene-based optical chips has secured €211 million.

      CamGraPhIC, a subsidiary of 2D Photonics based in Milan, has obtained approval from the European Commission for €211 million in Italian state funding aimed at industrializing its graphene photonic interconnect technology and establishing a pilot manufacturing line near Milan.

      The funding, labeled as one of the largest public investments ever directed toward an Italian deep-tech startup, will facilitate the industrialization of the company’s graphene-based optical interconnect platform and the development of a pilot manufacturing facility, set to begin operations in 2028.

      The technology developed by CamGraPhIC addresses an issue that has become more pressing as AI systems evolve: compute power is no longer the main limitation. Instead, the efficiency and speed of data transfer between chips, accelerators, and memory are the current constraints.

      Traditional electrical interconnects and standard silicon photonic links are unable to meet the bandwidth needs of extensive AI models, leading to excessive power consumption and heat generation.

      CamGraPhIC’s solution replaces these connections with graphene-based optical input/output technology, which the company claims provides significantly greater bandwidth density, reduced latency, and much lower energy consumption compared to existing silicon photonics.

      Graphene, consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms and known for its remarkable electrical and optical characteristics, has been a focus of scientific research for two decades but has proven challenging to produce at a commercial scale.

      Founded by Marco Romagnoli and Professor Andrea Ferrari, CamGraPhIC has designed the pilot line near Milan to transition the technology from advanced research to practical production, paving the way for large-scale foundry processes.

      This initiative is anticipated to generate over 150 skilled positions in fields such as photonics engineering, materials science, and semiconductor manufacturing.

      In February 2025, 2D Photonics secured a €25 million Series A funding round from investors including CDP Venture Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, Join Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, Bosch Ventures, Indaco Ventures, and Frontier IP Group.

      The €211 million state aid is significantly larger, reflecting the capital-intensive nature of semiconductor manufacturing and the EU's strategic goal of developing a European photonics supply chain for AI infrastructure.