NLM Photonics is a privately held U.S. startup developing organic electro-optic (OEO) materials and silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) technology for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The company focuses on enabling higher bandwidth and lower power consumption in optical communications through its patented Selerion family of materials, which integrate with standard silicon photonics manufacturing processes with minimal disruption.
Its core activities include materials engineering, process development, chip design, and commercialization of high-performance modulators. Key demonstrations include industry-first 1.6-terabit and 3.2-terabit multi-channel SOH PICs achieving record modulation efficiency, bandwidth exceeding 80-110 GHz, and low-voltage operation suitable for 200G/400G applications. These target datacom, AI data center interconnects, quantum computing and networking, mmWave, and sensing.
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with a presence in Paris, France, NLM operates primarily in the United States while collaborating with global foundries such as Tower Semiconductor (PH18M platform), GlobalFoundries/AMF, and AIM Photonics. It has secured contracts from NASA and AFWERX and maintains partnerships for design and manufacturing scale-up.
The company is a University of Washington spinout, founded in 2018 and rebranded in 2021. It is venture-capital backed with investors including Emerald Technology Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Diamond Edge Ventures (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), Idemitsu, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), Oregon Venture Fund, StoryHouse Ventures, Hamamatsu Photonics, and others. NLM positions itself as a leader in organic hybrid photonics solutions addressing power and bandwidth challenges in next-generation AI infrastructure and optical networks.
Official website: nlmphotonics.com
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Nonlinear Materials Corporation.
This list encompasses current and former names, alternate names, and key divisions associated with NLM, ensuring you can easily find all relevant information under a single, unified profile.
