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Optalysys

Category: AI Infrastructure

A deep-tech silicon photonics company developing optical computing hardware designed to accelerate Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and secure AI processing at light speed. Optalysys was founded in 2013. The company is led by Nick New. Based in Leeds, United Kingdom. Team size: 50-100. Total funding raised: ~£44M total (~$56-63M). Latest round: Series A Extension (£23M, Jan 2026 led by Northern Gritstone). Key investors include ["Lingotto (Exor)","imec.xpand","Northern Gritstone","Enterprise Ventures","British Business Bank"].

Founded
2013
Headquarters
Leeds, United Kingdom
Team size
50-100
Total funding
~£44M total (~$56-63M)

Value proposition

Enables 'data-in-use' encryption (FHE) by performing complex mathematical transforms using light, overcoming the speed and power-efficiency bottlenecks of traditional electronic processors (CPUs/GPUs).

Products and solutions

["Etile: A high-performance silicon photonic chiplet/accelerator core for integration into larger systems.","Optalysys Explore (Cloud): A cloud-based platform allowing developers to test and run FHE workloads on photonic hardware.","ENAble: A hybrid optical-electronic architecture designed to accelerate FHE and high-performance computing (HPC) workflows.","LightLocker™ Node: A confidential blockchain server designed for private smart contracts and secure Web3 applications."]

Unique value

Utilizes 'diffractive optics' and silicon photonics to perform Fourier and Number Theoretic Transforms (NTT) at the speed of light, processing data through the physical properties of light waves rather than electronic transistors.

Target customer

Cloud service providers (CSPs), financial institutions, healthcare and genomic research organizations, government/defense agencies, and AI developers requiring privacy-preserving computation.

Industries served

["Cybersecurity & Data Privacy","Finance and Banking","Healthcare and Life Sciences","Artificial Intelligence (AI/ML)","Blockchain and Web3"]

Technology advantage

Addresses the 'FHE gap' where encryption slows processing by 1,000x–100,000x; Optalysys hardware targets the most intensive 70-90% of FHE workloads, delivering massive throughput with significantly lower power consumption (e.g., Etile core at ~2W).

How they differentiate

Optalysys utilizes 'diffractive optics' to perform Fourier and Number Theoretic Transforms (NTT) at the speed of light. Unlike competitors using electronic 'sea of cores' (Cornami) or Mach-Zehnder interferometers for general AI matrix multiplication (Lightmatter), Optalysys targets the specific mathematical bottlenecks of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), reducing the 1,000x computational overhead to near-zero.

Main competitors

["Cornami","Lightmatter","Celestial AI"]

Key partnerships

["Google HEIR: Integration with Google’s FHE compiler to enable HEIR-generated code to run on optical chips.","Zama: Strategic collaboration to supercharge FHE development using Zama's open-source cryptographic tools.","Duality Technologies: Partnership to create accelerated, accessible FHE solutions for enterprise workflows.","imec: Strategic partnership for manufacturing and development of silicon photonic chiplets."]

Notable customers

["Google (HEIR Project)","Zama","Duality Technologies","DARPA (via research grants)"]

Major milestones

["Secured £23M Series B funding to accelerate commercialization (Feb 2025)","Integrated with Google’s HEIR compiler for seamless FHE hardware acceleration (2024)","Raised £21M Series A led by Lingotto and imec.xpand (July 2023)","Launched the 'Etile' silicon photonic chiplet for high-performance FHE workflows"]

Growth metrics

Team size expanded to 50-100 employees; currently scaling US operations and manufacturing partnerships with imec.

Market positioning

Specialized deep-tech hardware accelerator for privacy-preserving computation and secure AI infrastructure.

Geographic focus

United Kingdom (HQ), European Union, and North America (US expansion focus).

Patents and IP

Holds over 22 registered patents primarily in the 'Computing; Calculating' category, including specific IP for optical processing systems (e.g., GB2573171B) and alignment methods (CN107710055B).

About Nick New

Dr. Nick New is the Founder and CEO of Optalysys. He holds a PhD in Optical Pattern Recognition from the University of Cambridge and a BEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Liverpool. Prior to founding Optalysys in 2013, he founded Cambridge Correlators Ltd, where he spent over a decade developing optical processing systems. He is a recognized pioneer in silicon photonics and the application of optical computing to Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE).

Official website: