Cambridge spinout Glitterin Tech raises $14.7M to scale spectral chips
What's the deal? Glitterin Tech, a Chinese developer of silicon photonic integrated chips, has raised 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) in a pre-Series A round to commercialize its chip-scale spectrometer technology, Chinese tech outlet 36Kr reported on July 4. The proceeds will fund a new Shanghai laboratory, hiring and preparations for mass production.
Who's backing it? The round drew a cluster of institutional investors, including Xi'an Guangzi Qianglian Fund, Shanda CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Luoyang Entrepreneurial Fund, CAS StarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Xi'an Finance Investment ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Shanda Capital also backed the company's earlier venture round in September 2025.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2021 in Xuzhou, Glitterin Tech was spun out of a University of Cambridge research team led by founder Cheng Qixiang, a Cambridge PhD who previously worked at HuaweiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → chip affiliate HiSiliconDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It builds a "spectrometer-on-a-chip" that uses computational spectroscopy to shrink lab-scale optical instruments onto a 2 mm x 2 mm silicon chip.
The company says its chip covers wavelengths from 600 to 2,500 nanometers at resolution up to 0.01 nanometers, sharper than the 1 to 20 nanometer resolution of conventional miniature spectrometers. It estimates production costs could fall below $20 per chip, against $100 to $2,000 for mainstream modules.
Why now? The raise lands as silicon photonics gains momentum. LightCounting expects 2026 to be the first year silicon photonics modules exceed 50% of the optical module market, while Yole Group forecasts the sector will grow from $278 million in 2024 to $2.7 billion by 2030 — a 46% compound annual growth rate.
What's the expansion? Glitterin Tech plans to stand up a Shanghai team later in 2026, moving beyond optical sensing into optical switching and computing as demand for faster, energy-efficient AI interconnects grows. The company says it has already entered the supply chains of L'Oréal, HuaweiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Xiaomi, and is co-developing a device with L'Oréal to measure skin collagen.
The signal: At pre-Series A, $14.7 million is a sizeable cheque for an early photonics startup, and the roster of institutional backers points to growing conviction among Chinese deep-tech investors. As spectral and photonic chips move from lab work toward infrastructure for communications, sensing and AI, capital is following.
Read more: Yangtze River Economic Research
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
