0
Deep & Emerging Tech·November 3, 2026·1 min read

Photonics mapped: 74 European startups using light to power the AI era

Share

Seventy-four photonics startups across Europe focused on AI workloads shows real depth behind the ‘beyond-electrons’ narrative. If your AI infra roadmap is locked into conventional GPUs only, add optical interconnects and photonic accelerators to your 3–5 year tech scouting list.

Deep & Emerging Tech

Industry experts warn that slow US power grid expansion could stifle its AI boom and give China an edge, as China builds power infrastructure faster

Compute roadmaps that ignore transmission constraints are now fiction—US grid buildout is running at roughly one-quarter the needed pace while China leans into power infrastructure as a strategic lever. If you're planning multi-hundred-MW AI campuses in the US, you need a parallel strategy for grid interconnect risk, on-site generation, and jurisdictional diversification.