€3.1m · Seed · Deeptech · Besançon, France
Besançon-based Lightspring has raised €3.1m in seed funding co-led by Atlantic and OVNI Capital. Concept Ventures, iXcore, Plug and Play Ventures and industry angels also participated. A separate €350,000 i-Lab grant brings announced dilutive and non-dilutive financing above €3.5m.
Lightspring uses two-photon polymerisation, a form of 3D lithography, to fabricate optical coupling structures directly on photonic chips. The company aims to turn the alignment of fibres, lasers and chiplets into a repeatable manufacturing step. The funding will develop its process design kit and design tools, hire technical staff and qualify production with industrial partners.
Turning optical alignment into a production process
Photonic integrated circuits can move data with light, but connecting that light into and out of a package remains slow, expensive and sensitive to alignment. Lightspring's approach writes three-dimensional optical structures directly where they are needed instead of assembling each interface manually.
The seed round must carry a laboratory process into reliable throughput. Customers will need consistent coupling performance across foundries, materials and designs, plus tools that fit established engineering workflows. Industrial qualification will determine whether the technology becomes a reusable packaging layer or remains a specialist fabrication technique.
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Ruya Ventures: Newcomer of the Year 2025 — Ruya Ventures & Rick Hao, EUVC partner article · 28 August 2026. Its account of moving European deeptech from research to commercial scale adds context to Lightspring's manufacturing-qualification challenge.
Sources checked: Lightspring product site; ProYarn deal profile; Axios Pro Rata; Tech.eu Funding Explorer.
