Photon Capital flags photonics Series D
Photon Capital posted that Lessengers — a partner to POET in fiber‑to‑chip tech — has launched a Series D round, signalling fresh venture interest in photonics and semiconductor startups (x.com). The social post frames the financing as part of broader funding momentum into optical and chip‑integrated technologies (x.com).
Lessengers is raising a Series D round as investors keep circling the optical hardware used to move data in artificial intelligence data centers. (rcrwireless.com) Photon Capital pointed to the round in a post on X, identifying Lessengers as a partner to POET Technologies in fiber-to-chip connectivity. POET said on March 17, 2026 that the two companies are jointly developing a 1.6 terabit 2×DR4 optical transceiver for artificial intelligence clusters and hyperscale data centers. (x.com) (poet-technologies.com) Photonics is the use of light instead of electricity to carry information, like swapping copper lanes for glass lanes when traffic gets too heavy. Lessengers says its core product is “direct optical wiring,” a 3D polymer waveguide that routes light between photonic devices and fiber interfaces. (lessengers.com) (poet-technologies.com) The pitch is speed and density inside machines that train and run large artificial intelligence models. POET said its optical engine integrates lasers, modulators, photodiodes and passive optical parts on one compact platform, while Lessengers handles the optical routing to the fiber. (poet-technologies.com) Lessengers has been moving from lab technology toward shipping products. The company said in 2025 it had a 1.6 terabit OSFP 2×SR4 transceiver for artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads, and in 2026 its news page listed stockholder meeting notices and new-share issuance notices alongside product announcements. (rcrwireless.com) (lessengers.com) The current POET-Lessengers program targets samples in the second quarter of 2026. POET also said the companies planned to show the technology at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles on March 16-19, 2026. (poet-technologies.com) POET cited a LightCounting forecast that the market for 1.6 terabit DR8 modules will exceed 125 million units from 2027 through 2031. That gives investors a concrete reason to watch suppliers of optical engines, packaging and interconnects, not just the chip designers at the center of the artificial intelligence boom. (poet-technologies.com) Lessengers has not publicly posted the size or terms of the Series D round in the materials surfaced here. What is public is the direction of travel: more capital is chasing the hardware that moves light between chips as data-center bandwidth climbs. (x.com) (lessengers.com)
