Morphotonics raises €40 million to scale nano-imprint displays and enter data-center optics

Morphotonics announced on Tuesday that it has closed a €40 million financing round aimed at expanding production capacity for its nano-imprint lithography (NIL) equipment and moving into optical components for data centers. The funding comes as demand for augmented-reality (AR) glasses and other advanced optics accelerates, and as data-center operators explore photonic integrated circuits to increase bandwidth while reducing power consumption.

The round was led by a consortium that includes 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, BOM and Invest-NL, with participation from the European Innovation Council Fund, the Dutch family office Ernij Next and the European Investment Bank. Morphotonics, a Netherlands-based company, has spent 12 years developing NIL technology that creates a “stamp” to imprint patterns onto photosensitive materials, enabling the production of waveguides and other display elements used in smart glasses, privacy screens and automotive optics.

Smart-glass manufacturers are the primary customers for the startup’s technology. Waveguides, thin glass or plastic layers that direct light into the wearer’s eye, are a core component of products such as the Meta Ray-Ban Display, Even Reality and Magic Leap. Market research firm IDC projects shipments of smart-glass displays to reach 12.2 million units by 2030, and recent data from China shows sales of smart glasses doubled in the first eight months of this year. As manufacturers scale, they require NIL equipment that can produce displays at high volume, a need Morphotonics aims to meet with its next generation machine capable of more than 6 million waveguides per year, slated for shipment early next year.

The new capital has already allowed Morphotonics to more than double its workforce to 60 employees, up from roughly 30 in September 2024 when CEO Hugo Da Silva took the helm. The company plans to stabilize headcount between 70 and 75 as it ramps up production. Its operations are heavily anchored in Asia, with teams in China, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States, a footprint Da Silva says is critical for supporting customers throughout the manufacturing process. Currently about 90 percent of revenue derives from hardware sales, with 10-15 NIL systems deployed worldwide. The firm expects to reach 50 deployments within the next two to three years, a growth trajectory that should lift service-related revenue as more customers adopt licensing and consumable packages.

Beyond AR displays, Morphotonics is positioning its NIL platform for co-packaged optics, a technology that integrates photonic components directly with electronic chips to move data using light. While no machines have yet shipped for this application, the company reports that customers have validated the approach, suggesting a near-term entry point into data-center markets. For founders and investors, the raise underscores the expanding role of advanced optics in both consumer and enterprise sectors, and highlights the importance of deep supply-chain ties, Morphotonics benefits from the same vendors that serve industry giant ASML. The next steps will hinge on the successful launch of the high-volume waveguide machine and the ability to translate early validation into commercial orders for data-center optics.