AEPONYX Secures $4.3 Million Investment Round
AEPONYX has raised a $4.3 million financing round.
The Montreal-based micro-optical switch producer unveiled the new investment today. The round is led by Fonds Innovexport and Ecofuel Fund, as well as several private investors.
“The level of our technological innovation is at par with leading platforms in the fast-growing markets that can leverage it,” explained AEPONYX CEO, Philippe Babin. “Including next-generation fibre optic telecommunications access networks, data centers, and 5G mobile networks which, combined, represent a multibillion-dollar opportunity.”
The new funding allows AEPONYX to complete the development and industrialization of its planar micro-optical switch chips. These chips are based on a proprietary platform that combines silicon photonics with micro-electrical-mechanical-systems (MEMS).
“AEPONYX has exceptional potential to revolutionize fiber optic communications and to accelerate the transition to the new, faster and more efficient global NG-PON2 standard,” said Richard Bordeleau, president of Fonds Innovexport.
The NG-PON2 standard refers to a fibre optics network capable of delivering incredibly fast telecommunications to both domestic households and businesses. The network will also reduce the energy needs of data centers, as AEPONYX’s chip costs one-tenth of a legacy optical switch while working and improving switch time by a factor of one hundred. This means fewer chips needed to consume energy and more efficient use of existing telecommunications infrastructure.
The funding is part of a total $10 million ramp-up investment that will increase production by 2019. The other $5.7 million comes from two different sources—$1.9 million from a non-refundable Sustainable Development Technology Canada grant that was first announced in September 2016, and $3.8 million from Silicon Catalyst, a silicon-focused tech incubator.
