Aeluma to get $30m in CHIPS funding
US photonics company Aeluma has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for up to $30m of proposed funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, which is administered by the US Department of Commerce.
The award will support R&D of Aeluma’s scalable, non-InP semiconductor manufacturing platform for photonics, an important technology for the US economy and national security. The company's platform offers a way of building high-performance photonics on large-diameter, mismatched substrates up to 300mm in size, bridging compound semiconductor materials with mainstream microelectronics.
“We are pleased to be one of the companies selected to receive an LOI for funding to support the AI and advanced computing ecosystem in the US,” said Jonathan Klamkin, Aeluma’s president and CEO. “This award aims to accelerate development and commercialisation of our scalable, high-performance semiconductor platform, leveraging Aeluma’s facilities in Goleta, California, and partner sites within the US. With growing demand for photonics in AI and advanced computing infrastructure, Aeluma is poised for broad market adoption of our innovative technology solutions.”
“The CHIPS R&D incentives will support a breakthrough in manufacturing of photonic devices for compute and communication networks,” said Bill Frauenhofer, the executive director for Semiconductor Innovation and Investment at the US Department of Commerce. “Accelerating R&D for next generation substrates for domestic photonic devices provides American industry the extreme bandwidth and energy efficiency to scale complex AI workloads.”
