Morphotonics raises €40M to scale display tech and enter data centers
What's the deal? Dutch nanoimprint lithography company Morphotonics has raised €40 million in an early-stage round to scale production and push into a new market: optical components for data centers. Backers include 3M VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Innovation IndustriesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, BOMDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Invest-NLDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the European Innovation Council Fund, Dutch family office Ernij Next, and the European Investment Bank.
What does it do? Morphotonics uses nanoimprint lithography (NIL) to make displays, creating a "stamp" that it applies to photosensitive materials. Its technology produces waveguides — the thin glass or plastic that deflects light in front of a wearer's eyes — for smart glasses including the Meta Ray-Ban DisplayDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Even RealityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Magic Leap.
Why now? Demand for smart glasses is surging. China said sales there doubled in the first eight months of this year, and research firm IDCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → expects shipments of display-equipped smart glasses to reach 12.2 million by 2030.
By the numbers: The latest funding is part of an extended round that began in 2024, raised in installments. The company has more than doubled its headcount to 60, up from about 30 in September 2024, when chief executive officer Hugo Da Silva joined; it expects to stabilise around 70 to 75.
What's the endgame? Morphotonics sells both machines and its process through licensing. Its next machine, being built now, will produce more than 6 million waveguides a year and should ship early next year. About 90% of revenue comes from hardware, with 10 to 15 systems deployed globally and 50 targeted within two to three years.
The data center push: The company is moving into co-packaged optics, a technology used in data centers to move data between servers with light instead of electricity. It hasn't shipped machines in this area yet, but said customers have validated the tech.
"Typically, display manufacturers would acquire our equipment as part of the supply chain, and we integrate it into the entire manufacturing process," Da Silva said. Manufacturing is concentrated in Asia, with teams in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and the US. "Strong local presence is very important," he said.
The signal: The round ranks among the largest early-stage VC deals in Dutch nanotech, sitting in the top 1% of 217 comparable rounds all-time. That reflects how the smart glasses boom — and now data center optics — is pulling capital toward the niche manufacturing tools that make both possible.
Read more: TechCrunch
Image credit: Morphotonics
