Source Photonics closes new funding for next-generation technologies

Source Photonics, a global provider of optical transceivers, today announced it recently closed more than $100M in equity to support its growing data center and 5G business.

The funding will be used to further increase the scale of Source Photonics’ operations, as LightCounting reported that the sales of optical components and modules to Cloud Companies grew by 63% in 2016 and 64% in 2017. The growth rate will average roughly 20% per year through 2023. Higher growth rates in 2020-2022 will be driven by first volume deployments of 400GbE. This is a result of the rise of 5G and the cloud.

Planned developments include the creation of a new laser fab, upgrades to existing production facilities and increased investment in the research and development of next-generation technologies, ensuring Source Photonics continues its position as a leading innovator.

“Exciting new applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality, and cloud services are growing in popularity every day,” said Doug Wright, CEO at Source Photonics. “These applications all depend on the next standard of connectivity, and 5G depends on the backing of a world-class optical network. We are extremely proud that our investors have shown this confidence in us and are confident that the investment will support our ongoing work to enable the next era of connectivity.”

Upgrades to Source Photonics’ fab in Taiwan have already been completed and production operations have begun for a new fab in Jintan, China, using the latest funding. The funding will also be used towards technology investments for advanced coating technologies to enable next-generation lasers and transceivers for the fast-growing 5G and data center markets.

Source Photonics’ latest range of cutting-edge technology will be exhibited at OFC 2019 at booth 4021. Products on display will include its new 400G-LR8 and DR4 QSFP-DD solutions, which are the latest addition to its PAM4-based optical transceivers portfolio. Other products which will be showcased at OFC, in San Diego, on March 4-7, 2019, include several QSFP28 solutions such as the 100G-DR/FR, 100G-SR4, 100G CWDM4, and 100G-LR4. The company will also demonstrate some of its solutions for the 5G market such as the 50G-ER QSFP28 and 25G LAN DWM SFP28.