CamGraPhIC lands €211 million to tackle AI’s data bottleneck – in one of Italy’s largest DeepTech funding deals

April 15, 2026 at 11:21 AM UTC
EU-Startups
Original: EN
CamGraPhIC lands €211 million to tackle AI’s data bottleneck – in one of Italy’s largest DeepTech funding deals

CamGraPhIC, an Italian DeepTech startup, has secured a significant €211 million in funding from the Italian state, approved by the European Commission. This substantial investment aims to develop advanced optical technology crucial for enhancing data movement within future AI infrastructure. The funding positions CamGraPhIC as a leader in addressing the data bottleneck that currently limits the scalability and efficiency of artificial intelligence systems. The core of CamGraPhIC's innovation lies in its graphene-based optical technology, designed to overcome the limitations of current data transfer methods. While computing power continues to advance, data movement speeds have lagged, creating a significant bottleneck for AI. Jensen, CEO of 2D Photonics, highlights that graphene-based optical technology promises to dramatically increase data throughput while substantially reducing power consumption, a critical need for next-generation AI. This substantial public investment in CamGraPhIC's photonic computing and optical interconnect solutions underscores a broader European push to foster digital sovereignty in AI. It contrasts with other European funding rounds in similar fields, such as Scintil Photonics (€50 million), Arago (€22.1 million), Lumai (€9.2 million), Optalysys (€26.4 million), and Q.ANT (€62 million), collectively reaching nearly €170 million. CamGraPhIC's €211 million package represents a significant concentrated effort to advance light-based approaches for AI and high-performance computing.

Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.

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Publication: EU-Startups
Published: April 15, 2026 at 11:21 AM UTC
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