Vector Photonics, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, announced a £1.6m equity investment to commercialise its PCSEL-based, semiconductor laser technology.
The company’s PCSELs (Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers) is based on semiconductor research led by Professor Richard Hogg. The company said its technology has applications in data communications, additive manufacturing, including metal and plastic printing, LiDAR, and optical sensing.
Neil Martin, CEO of Vector Photonics, said, “We are pleased to announce the £1.6m equity investment for Vector Photonics, which comes from a consortium of three specialist funding companies – Foresight, the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Equity Gap. This is in addition to three government grants worth £2.4m and takes our seed funding round to more than £4m – a fantastic achievement for a one-year-old, Covid era, University of Glasgow start-up.
“Each investment company adds its own unique value to our business and will have board representation. Foresight invests in high growth-potential companies with innovative and transformational technologies via the Foresight Scottish Growth Fund and Foresight Williams, a joint venture with Williams Advanced Engineering. UKI2S is a specialist deep-tech seed fund focused on spin outs from the UK’s research base. Equity Gap is an angel investment syndicate, investing early in new technology businesses throughout Scotland.”
