PHIX started its operations in July 2018 to serve the growing demand for photonic assembly activities. PHIX’s goal of becoming the world leader in this field has come one step closer with large new investments from Innovation Industries and existing investor Oost NL (through Innovatiefonds Twente). These investments catalyze PHIX’s growth and its ambitions to scale up its manufacturing volumes.
An investment in European photonics assembly
The photonics market is estimated to grow exponentially during the next 5 years. Photonic technologies find their way into many sectors, including health care, automotive, sensing, consumer electronics and many more. Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are a key enabling technology and facilitate further miniaturization, faster connections and cost reduction.
Before PICs can be incorporated into products, the chips need to be connected to other components, such as optical fibers, amplifiers and electronics, with great accuracy. This photonics assembly activity is the core competence of PHIX. PHIX is the photonic equivalent of the outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) companies known from the electronics industry.
By acting as a back-end foundry service, the customers of PHIX do not need to invest in their own equipment and assembly processes. This enables a quick ramp up from prototype development to volume manufacturing. For others, partnering with PHIX will allow for outsourcing and second sourcing.
In order to serve customers from prototype to volume, PHIX also provides engineering support for product development. PHIX provides design guidelines that take future volume manufacturing requirements into account at an early stage of PIC and product design.
The investments from Innovation Industries and Oost NL will be used for the company’s aggressive growth ambitions and will help to accelerate PHIX’s plans to extend production capabilities.
PHIX CEO Albert Hasper and COO Joost van Kerkhof (photo: PHIX – Gijs van Ouwerkerk)
About Innovation Industries
Innovation Industries is an independent venture capital investor that provides accelerator capital and strategic support to Dutch High Tech, MedTech and Agri & Food Tech businesses with innovative proprietary scientific and engineering technology, solving real-world problems in identifiable markets. Innovation Industries uses a market-driven approach to create long-term value in high technology start-up and scale-up companies. For further information about Innovation Industries’ portfolio please visit: www.innovationindustries.com/companies
Contact person: Nard Sintenie, General Partner
ns@innovationindustries.com
About Oost NL
Oost NL (East Netherlands Development Agency) is an agency that focuses its activities and projects on strengthening and stimulating the economy of the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, the Netherlands. With our investments we support starting and growth-phase SMEs. We do this partly with risk capital from various revolving innovation funds, and partly through our knowledge, networks and personal contacts. Through the revolving funds we provide for direct as well as indirect investment and take care of the fund management. In addition, we stimulate and support public and private investors. The result: growth through financing. For further information, please visit us at www.oostnl.nl
Contact person: Daniëlle Gijsbertse
danielle.gijsbertse@oostnl.nl
About PHIX Photonics Assembly
Starting its operation in 2018, PHIX is a European based provider of automated photonics assembly services with its main facilities in Enschede, The Netherlands. We aim to become world leader in the supply of PIC based components and modules in scalable production volumes. We offer fiber arrays and assembly services for the four major technology platforms (InP, Si, LiN and SiN) and are specialized in hybrid integration of chip-to-chip and fiber-to-chip modules. PHIX provides a one-stop-shop from design to volume production of PIC modules.
For further information, please visit us at www.phix.com
Contact person: Gijs van Ouwerkerk
g.vanouwerkerk@phix.com
