Funding news · Sep 22, 2026
Lightspring Raises €3.1M Seed to Industrialize 3D Optical Coupling for Photonic Chips
Lightspring Raises €3.1M Seed Round
Lightspring, a French deeptech startup based in Besançon, has raised €3.1 million in Seed funding. The round was led by OVNI Capital, with participation from Concept Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Atlantic.vc, and iXcore Group.
What Lightspring Does
Lightspring designs and manufactures the optical interfaces of photonic integrated circuits. Using 3D lithography based on two-photon polymerisation, the company fabricates microlenses, 3D waveguides, and beam-shaping elements directly on the chip.
This approach turns optical packaging — which accounts for roughly half of a photonic chip's cost — into a single reproducible manufacturing step. The company is also building the first process design kit dedicated to 3D optical coupling.
Origins and Technical Foundation
Lightspring was spun out of research at the FEMTO-ST Institute (CNRS). That academic lineage underpins its core technology: direct-on-chip fabrication of optical elements via two-photon polymerisation, a form of 3D lithography.
Why the Round Matters
Optical packaging is a well-known bottleneck in photonics. By collapsing multiple assembly steps into one reproducible process, Lightspring targets a cost structure that could make photonic integrated circuits more manufacturable at scale. The Seed round gives the company capital to advance its process design kit and manufacturing approach.
Deal Summary
- Company: Lightspring
- Headquarters: Besançon, France
- Sector: Deeptech / photonic integrated circuits
- Round: Seed
- Amount: €3.1 million
- Lead Investor: OVNI Capital
- Participating Investors: Concept Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Atlantic.vc, iXcore Group
- Announced: September 22, 2026
What to Watch
Lightspring sits at the intersection of photonics manufacturing and advanced lithography. Its progress on the process design kit for 3D optical coupling will be a key indicator of how quickly its approach can be adopted by chip designers and foundries.