TL;DR: Photonics—computing with light instead of electrons—is spawning a new innovation hub to rival Silicon Valley, with the Netherlands' Eindhoven region leading a €1.1 billion push to commercialize the technology.

What is photonics and why does it matter?

For decades, silicon-based electronics have driven unprecedented advances in computing, communications, and countless other fields. But as we push against the physical limits of silicon transistors, a new paradigm is rising. One that based on light rather than electrons.

Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons, which offers solutions to challenges that electronics alone cannot (and has not yet) overcome. Where Silicon Valley transformed information processing through microchips, “Photonic Valley” represents the next leap: leveraging light for faster data transmission, more efficient energy use, and revolutionary applications in quantum computing, sensing, and communications (interestingly, I see this related to some of the recent solar activity “activated” by comet 3I/Atlas — read more here).

The core breakthrough is integrated photonics, the technology that integrates optical components on a single chip, much like how integrated circuits revolutionized electronics. Instead of moving electrons through silicon, photonic chips route light through nanoscale waveguides, enabling data speeds and energy efficiency that electronic chips cannot match.

And the prospect of a new type of “Valley” forming (that’s separate to Silicon Valley), excites me to no end.

Why the Netherlands?

The Netherlands has positioned itself as the frontrunner in this photonic revolution. You probably weren’t even aware, right? Eindhoven, specifically the High Tech Campus region (e.g. Eindhoven University of Technology), has become the de facto center of gravity.

In April 2022, PhotonDelta — a cross-border ecosystem accelerator — secured €1.1 billion in public and private investment, including €470 million from the Dutch National Growth Fund.[1] This six-year program aims to cement the country's position in integrated photonics by funding startups, expanding production facilities, and training talent.

The ecosystem includes concrete players making real progress:

• Smart Photonics, an independent foundry for photonic integrated circuits founded in 2012, received €35 million in Series C funding to expand wafer manufacturing capacity at the High Tech Campus.[2]

• Astrape, spun out of the HighTechXL venture builder in 2022, raised €7.9 million to build optical switches that address data center inefficiency.[3]

• Photonfirst, spun out from Technobis in early 2025, is scaling integrated photonic sensing technology for temperature, pressure, and strain measurement after fifteen years of R&D.[4]

This isn't your typical US-style venture capital theater either. The Netherlands' Eindhoven University of Technology established COBRA (the Inter-university Research Institute on Communication Technology) in the early 1990s, combining semiconductor materials expertise with optical integration research.[5] That three-decade foundation has produced both the talent pipeline and the technical breakthroughs now entering commercial production. Talk about visionary.

Where is Photonic Valley located?

While Eindhoven anchors the European effort, the photonic revolution isn't confined to one location. The transition from Silicon Valley to “Photonic Valley” represents more than a geographical shift. This now also symbolizes a fundamental transformation in how we process, transmit, and utilize information.

Cities around the world are positioning themselves as nodes in this distributed network. The question isn't just "where" Photonic Valley will be, but how these innovation centers will collaborate to unlock the full potential of light-based technologies.

That said, the Netherlands has the clearest claim to the title today, backed by coordinated industrial policy, patient capital, and decades of research infrastructure.

What needs to happen for photonics to scale?

Several factors will determine whether Photonic Valley delivers on its promise:

The journey from Silicon Valley to Photonic Valley is not about replacing one technology with another. It's about expanding capability, solving problems that were previously intractable, and opening doors to applications we haven't yet imagined.

The age of light is here. The infrastructure to scale it is being built now.

Explore the shift. You might already be one of us.

FAQ

Q: What is photonics? A: Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons (particles of light). In computing and communications, it means using light instead of electrons to process and transmit information, enabling faster speeds and greater energy efficiency than traditional electronics.

Q: What is integrated photonics? A: Integrated photonics is the technology that combines multiple optical components—such as lasers, modulators, and detectors—on a single chip. It's the photonic equivalent of the integrated circuit, allowing complex light-based systems to be miniaturized and mass-produced.

Q: Why the Netherlands specifically? A: The Netherlands has three decades of research infrastructure through institutions like Eindhoven University of Technology's COBRA institute, €1.1 billion in coordinated public-private funding through PhotonDelta, and an established ecosystem of foundries and startups on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. This combination of long-term research investment, industrial policy, and manufacturing capacity gives it a structural advantage.

Q: How is photonics different from electronics? A: Electronics use electrons moving through conductive materials to process and transmit information. Photonics use photons (light) moving through optical waveguides. Light travels faster, generates less heat, and can carry more data in parallel than electrons, making photonics superior for high-speed data transmission, sensing, and certain computing tasks.