Morphotonics Raises €40M for Smart Glasses and Data Center Optics
Morphotonics raises €40 million to scale nanoimprint lithography for smart glasses, target data center optics and ship a 6 million waveguide machine.
Summary
On September 22, 2026, Dutch nanoimprint lithography specialist Morphotonics announced €40 million in extended financing assembled since 2024 from 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, BOM, Invest-NL, the European Innovation Council Fund, Ernij Next and the European Investment Bank. After 12 years of development using many ASML suppliers, its machines stamp photosensitive materials for augmented reality displays, vehicle privacy screens and waveguides of the kind used in Meta Ray-Ban Display, Even Reality and Magic Leap products.
China’s smart glasses sales doubled during the first eight months of 2026, while IDC projected in June that shipments of smart glasses with displays will reach 12.2 million by 2030. Morphotonics is building a machine capable of producing more than 6 million waveguides annually, with shipments expected in early 2027. Since CEO Hugo Da Silva joined in September 2024, headcount has risen from roughly 30 to 60 and should stabilize at 70 to 75. Manufacturing is concentrated in Asia, supported by teams in China, Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S.
Morphotonics sells equipment while licensing its process and supplying chemicals. Hardware generates roughly 90% of revenue, with 10 to 15 systems deployed globally; the company targets 50 deployments within two to three years and expects services revenue to rise. It will also pursue co-packaged optics for data centers, using Photonic Integrated Circuits that move data with light instead of electricity. Customers have validated the technology, but no machines for that market have shipped.
Positives
- €40 million from seven investors will support higher production and entry into data center optics.
- More than 6 million waveguides annually could be produced by the machine scheduled to ship in early 2027.
- China’s smart glasses sales doubled during the first eight months of 2026.
- IDC expects smart glasses with displays to reach 12.2 million shipments by 2030.
- Headcount doubled from roughly 30 in September 2024 to 60, with 70 to 75 employees planned.
- 50 global deployments are targeted within two to three years, up from 10 to 15 today.
Risks & concerns
- No co-packaged optics machines have shipped, despite customer validation of the data center technology.
- Roughly 90% of revenue still comes from hardware, leaving services as a comparatively small business.
- Only 10 to 15 Morphotonics systems are currently deployed worldwide.
- Manufacturing remains heavily concentrated in Asia despite teams across China, Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S.