News: Optoelectronics
19 January 2026
PhotonDelta launches Global Photonics Engineering Contest at PIC Summit USA
Photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta of Eindhoven, the Netherlands (which connects and collaborates with an ecosystem of photonic chip technology organizations worldwide) has launched its second global engineering contest in collaboration with SIEMENS company Wevolver (a global knowledge and community platform for engineers and tech companies) to stimulate the creation of new applications for photonic chips that tackle global challenges.
PhotonDelta is a non-profit organization supporting an end-to-end value chain in the Netherlands for photonic chips that designs, develops and manufactures innovative solutions. Leveraging funding from the National Growth Fund of the Netherlands alongside strategic investments, PhotonDelta is committed to facilitating the growth of startups, the creation of new photonic chip applications, and the development of infrastructure and talent.
The contest builds on the success of last year’s competition, which saw Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spin-off Perceptra of Oakland, CA, USA triumph with its photonic chip-based Raman sensor for real-time chemical monitoring. Perceptra received €1.2m in investments from PhotonDelta, together with access to up to €50,000 worth of services to help bring the concept into reality. The firm will open an R&D facility in the Netherlands to scale photonic sensing for chemical monitoring.
Launched on 19 January at the PIC Summit USA 2026 in Sunnyvale, CA, USA, the Global Photonics Engineering Contest is a competition for innovative ideas for photonic chip-based solutions that address some of the world’s most pressing societal and technical challenges, from combating climate change and advancing healthcare to addressing energy sustainability challenges. The second edition of the contest focuses on photonic chip-based applications within communication and computing, imaging, sensing and wireless.
Engineers and startups are invited to submit concepts and designs that have the capacity to revolutionize fields such as healthcare, autonomous vehicles, AI and agriculture by, for example, enabling advanced sensors for earlier diagnostics, safer infrastructure, or more efficient food production. The ultimate goal of the contest is to discover future applications in segments that are yet to be invented.
The winner will receive up to €100,000 worth of technology services to bring their idea to life as well as consideration for pre-seed funding of up to €2m by PhotonDelta. In addition, the winner will receive two tickets including flights and hotel and the opportunity to present on the main stage at PIC Summit Europe 2026 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands (3–4 November).
Industry partners including Aluvia Photonics, Bright Photonics, Epiphany, Ligentec, LioniX International, PHIX Photonics Assembly, SMART Photonics, XIVER and imec are joining forces to transform the winning idea into reality.
Organized by PhotonDelta, PIC Summit USA sees more than 500 leaders and 30 exhibitors from the global photonic chip and semicon industry gathering to discuss a range of key topics impacting the sector. A key focus will be debating optical and photonic architectures for AI-scale computing and next-generation data-center connectivity. The 25 featured speakers include: Arista Networks’ founder & chief architect Andy Bechtolsheim; Lightmatter’s founder & CEO Nicholas Harris; NVIDIA’s director of networking Ashkan Seyedi; and Celestial AI’s founder & CEO David Lazovsky.
“There is no better place to launch this contest than at PIC Summit USA, which sees more than 500 leading industry figures come together to help drive the photonics industry forward,” says PhotonDelta’s CEO Eelko Brinkhof. “There will be vigorous debates across a range of issues, with a special focus on the role of photonic chips within AI-scale computing and next-generation data-center connectivity,” he adds.
“Last year’s Global Photonics Engineering Contest saw scores of highly innovative and exciting entrants. We are delighted to build on this success and launch an expanded contest aimed at discovering and supporting an even wider array of potentially game-changing applications for photonic technology.”
The contest is open to startups, established companies, engineers, researchers, students, and academic organizations working on innovative photonic chip applications.
Submissions will be open until the 19 June. The winner and runners-up will be announced in August.
Contest entries will be judged on the level of innovation, technical and commercial feasibility, and how effectively the design addresses current industry challenges. Participants are required to submit detailed descriptions of their projects, including team information and supporting visuals or videos. A jury panel of experts from the photonic chip industry will review the submissions.
Perceptra secures €1.2m funding from PhotonDelta
PhotonDelta and Silicon Catalyst collaborate to drive innovation for early-stage photonic startups
PhotonDelta opens office in Silicon Valley
Integrated Photonics System Roadmap unveiled, led by PhotonDelta and MIT Microphotonics Center
www.wevolver.com/article/global-photonics-engineering-contest-2026
