The Italian deeptech making graphene-based optical chips gets €211M

CamGraPhIC, a subsidiary of Milan-based 2D Photonics, has secured European Commission approval for €211M in Italian state aid funding to industrialise graphene-based optical interconnect technology. The funding — described as one of the largest single public investments in an Italian deep-tech startup — will finance a pilot manufacturing facility near Milan, expected to be operational by 2028. The technology targets a growing bottleneck in AI systems: data movement between chips, accelerators, and memory. Graphene-based optical I/O promises higher bandwidth density, lower latency, and lower energy consumption compared to conventional silicon photonics. The project is expected to create over 150 jobs in photonics engineering and semiconductor manufacturing.