Photonics firm wins US contracts
A photonics company ($ALMU) secured more than $4 million in U.S. government contracts for quantum‑dot lasers and AlGaAs technology and named Tower Semiconductor as its primary foundry partner. (x.com) The stock reaction was immediate — shares jumped about 30% in premarket trading after the announcement. (x.com)
Aeluma said on April 13 that it won more than $4 million in U.S. government contracts to scale laser and photonics chips, and investors immediately bid up the stock. (aeluma.com) (cnbc.com) The Goleta, California, company said the awards will fund work on quantum-dot lasers and aluminum gallium arsenide, a semiconductor material known as AlGaAs, for quantum and high-speed data communication systems. Aeluma said Tower Semiconductor and Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technology will handle wafer production and fabrication. (aeluma.com) A quantum-dot laser is a light source built from nanoscale semiconductor structures, and Aeluma says those devices can deliver low noise, high reliability, and high power handling for quantum systems and data-center optical links. The company said its AlGaAs platform is aimed at generating and controlling photons on chips for quantum communication, computing, and sensing. (aeluma.com) Aeluma’s pitch is that it can put compound semiconductor performance onto the large silicon wafers used in mainstream chip manufacturing. In the April 13 release, the company said the new contracts are meant to push that platform from demonstrations toward scaled production. (aeluma.com 1) (aeluma.com 2) That matters for a company of Aeluma’s size. Aeluma reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $1.3 million in its fourth quarter, ended June 30, 2025, and said it finished that fiscal year with $15.7 million in cash and no debt. (aeluma.com) The company has been building its government-contract base for months. In its fiscal 2025 year-end report, Aeluma said it had secured six research and development contracts during that year, including projects with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Navy, and the Department of Energy. (aeluma.com) Aeluma only joined the Nasdaq Capital Market on March 27, 2025, after pricing a $12 million public offering at $5.25 a share. It raised more capital again in September 2025, pricing another public offering expected to bring in about $22.1 million in gross proceeds. (aeluma.com 1) (aeluma.com 2) The stock move was sharp. Aeluma closed at $15.35 on April 13, up 42.66% for the day, after opening at $14.03 versus a previous close of $10.76, according to CNBC market data; Aeluma’s own investor page showed a 44.33% gain at 1:13 p.m. Eastern time that day. (cnbc.com) (aeluma.com) By April 15, Google Finance showed the shares at $14.26 in regular trading with premarket trading at $14.70. For now, the contracts give Aeluma cash, a manufacturing partner, and a clearer test of whether its photonics process can move from lab-scale programs into repeatable chip production. (google.com) (aeluma.com)
