NeoPhotonics Corporation

NeoPhotonics Corporation

Company type	Public
Industry	Optoelectronics, Telecommunications equipment
Predecessor	NanoGram Corporation
Founded	1996 (1996)
Founder	Sean Bi, Nobuyuki Kambe
Defunct	August 2022 (2022-08)
Fate	Acquired by Lumentum
Headquarters	San Jose , United States
Area served	Global
Products	Transceivers, tunable lasers, high-capacity receivers, optical semiconductors, photonic integrated circuits, modules supporting 100 Gbps+
Owner	Lumentum (parent company)
Parent	Lumentum

NeoPhotonics Corporation was a publicly traded American company headquartered in San Jose, California, established in 1996. It specialized in the design, production, and distribution of optoelectronic devices tailored for high-speed digital optical communication systems. Its range of products encompassed transceivers, tunable lasers, high-capacity receivers, optical semiconductors, photonic integrated circuits, and modules capable of supporting data rates of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) and higher.

The firm concentrated on coherent communication technology delivering data speeds of 100G and beyond—including 200G, 400G, and 600G—serving telecommunications providers, datacenters, and content delivery networks. These solutions were built on Advanced Hybrid Photonic Integration technology to optimize system performance.

Coherent transmission enhances bandwidth by modulating amplitude, phase, and polarization, facilitating adaptable and efficient wavelength switching essential for Software Defined Networks. This approach has become the benchmark for cutting-edge high-speed telecom infrastructure.

NeoPhotonics saw swift revenue expansion fueled by growing demand from telecom backbone networks and content providers reacting to escalating mobile data usage. Its initial deployment of 100G coherent products targeted the Long Haul segment; however, future expansion is anticipated primarily within the larger Metro and datacenter sectors that support extensive web-scale data networks.

The company’s shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NPTN.

History

Founded in 1996 by Sean Bi, originally from China, and Nobuyuki Kambe, from Japan—who connected through MIT—NeoPhotonics began as NanoGram Corporation with a focus on inorganic nanomaterials. The startup secured $1 million in funding from Institutional Venture Partners before rebranding as NeoPhotonics in 2002.

Amid the technology downturn in 2002, the enterprise restructured into three distinct units: NanoGram Devices (developing battery technologies for medical equipment), NeoPhotonics (optical device manufacturing), and NanoGram Corp. (managing intellectual property and nanomaterial films). That year, NeoPhotonics raised $35 million in capital. In 2003, after acquiring Lightwave Microsystems—a producer of silica-on-silica optical components—the company underwent bankruptcy reorganization and subsequently sold NanoGram Devices for roughly $45 million to Greatbatch Technologies upon emerging from bankruptcy.

Between 2005 and 2006, NeoPhotonics acquired a controlling interest in Photon Technology Co., Ltd., a prominent optoelectronic device manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. Additional acquisitions broadened its optical components portfolio with companies such as Optun, Lightconnect, BeamExpress, Santur (acquired for $39.2 million), LAPIS Semiconductor’s optical division, Paxera, and EMCORE’s tunable laser and transceiver product lines.

NeoPhotonics entered the public market on the New York Stock Exchange on February 2, 2011. By October 2016, its market value approached $700 million. The company held approximately 550 patents granted in the United States and about 100 patents internationally as of mid-2016. Manufacturing operations were situated in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Shenzhen.

In August 2022, Lumentum completed the acquisition of NeoPhotonics for $918 million.