Ahren Innovation Capital invests in Rockley Photonics

News and Business

UK-based Rockley Photonics has announced that Ahren Innovation Capital as an investor. Ahren is an investment fund that focuses on transformational companies at the intersection of deep tech and deep science. Its four broad fields of activity include the brain and artificial intelligence; genetics and platform technologies; space and robotics; and efficient energy. Ahren’s goal is to build a new wave of transformational companies that will change the world for the better.

Rockley’s silicon photonics platform enables fundamental advances to be made across multiple mega-trend markets. The technology has great potential within sensor applications, where low-cost integrated optics solutions are sought for applications in areas such as in machine vision and environmental sensing; use cases that will each have a significant positive impact on society. Its technology also boosts performance in high-density communications applications, such as datacentre compute connectivity, 5G infrastructure and AI cluster compute environments, where using photonics eliminates the performance constraints of traditional electrical connections.

“Rockley’s platform aligns closely with our interests and spans very well across the application space of our target markets, especially as an enabling technology in new AI and healthcare opportunities,” said Alice Newcombe-Ellis (pictured), Ahren’s founder and managing partner. “By starting with a clean sheet and designing a bespoke fabrication process, Rockley has created a highly versatile platform solution. Importantly, the technology can be manufactured cheaply and at scale for high-volume markets.”

“Ahren’s Partners have exceptional credibility and their support for Rockley further validates our technology, strategy and our experienced team,” said Andrew Rickman, chief executive, Rockley Photonics. “Silicon photonics enables novel solutions that unlock extraordinary application capabilities. Our unique manufacturing processes, expertise and solutions put us several years ahead of the competition.”

For more information, visit www.rockleyphotonics.com