In order to support artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other high-demanding technologies, faster and better processors are essential. A theoretical physicist thinks he has discovered a breakthrough in photonics research that will make this possible. To make those chips, NATO, the European government, and other important investors are now providing early support to his firm.
With the help of $8.5 million in startup money, Ephos plans to establish and run a new glass-based quantum photonics research and manufacturing center close to Milan.
Other similar companies to Ephos include the $1 billion-plus Xanadu, Microsoft-backed Photonic, U.S. Department of Defense-backed Oxford spinout Orca, and more. However, Ephos claims that their plant will be the “world’s first dedicated to producing glass-based quantum photonic circuits,” given its emphasis on chips.
The CEO of Ephos, Andrea Rocchetto, an Italian theoretical physicist, says he had the concept for the company’s creation and establishment in Italy during the height of COVID-19.
He had studied in Oxford, London, and Rome before arriving at the University of Texas at Austin to begin postdoctoral research when the epidemic struck.
“I came to understand that there was this enormous talent pool that was entirely independent of the major trends in technology when I flew back to Italy and reconnected with the community here,” he remarked. “No startups were developing quantum technologies.” In 2022, he founded Ephos to address that gap after collaborating with three other highly respected quantum and computer science researchers: Francesco Ceccarelli, Giacomo Corrielli, and Roberto Osellame.
According to Rocchetto, there is a technological as well as a geographic gap.
The enormous profits made by firms like Nvidia and the hefty costs incurred by major foundational AI companies for model training and operation indicate that computational infrastructure is under strain. It goes beyond AI, though. The modern hardware that we have is also under strain from emerging advancements like quantum computing. According to Rocchetto, data centers in the United States alone will consume almost 9% of the country’s energy production, so improving their speed and efficiency is necessary. He stated, “Quantum computing and photonics can both address those needs.”
One extremely effective method of data communication is through the use of chips that process light, or more specifically, photons. Ephos believes that constructing photonics chips utilizing (glass) fiber optics will be the greatest foundation for these and the least likely to cause photon loss. He said, “Glass helps a lot for that.” Our rivals’ processors are built of silicon, but light has a strong aversion to changing materials. These coupling losses between fibers and chips can be significantly decreased if the entire infrastructure is constructed out of glass.
Ephos has a foothold in both the deep tech and commercialized opportunity domains. The first chips haven’t been produced yet, but its quantum facility is already operational (some of the funding was actually raised earlier in the year). However, Rocchetto stated, “We expect the fab to be fully operational by the end of the year.” These should be released in the next weeks.
While quantum computing startups have shown interest early on, he also mentioned that the startup is receiving attention from large tech corporations known as “hyperscalers,” who construct their own data centers, as well as the data center builders who collaborate with them. An intriguing hint as to the identities of some of those hyperscalers can be found in the list of those investors.
Leading the investment is American firm Starlight Ventures, with participation from Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, 2100 Ventures, and Unruly Capital. Three angel investors include Joe Zadeh, a former vice president of Airbnb, Diego Piacentini, a former senior vice president at Amazon, and Simone Severini, general manager of Amazon Web Services responsible for quantum technologies. The European Innovation Council (EIC) and NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator, or DIANA, are also supporting Ephos.
It is not a trivial detail that Ephos is located in Europe. In the face of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, there has been a strong global push for countries to invest more in their own infrastructure across a variety of verticals; this approach is known as “resilience.” In this instance, Ephos is also receiving support from NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIANA) and the European Innovation Council (EIC).
Although Ephos believes that meeting a need in the computing industry is its main possibility, Rocchetto stated, “As a company, we are very much interested in building transatlantic ties.” Since the defense industry has always been among the first to adopt new computational technologies, we firmly feel that the defense sector is essential to the expansion of our business. Thus, we closely monitor the area.