November 2025 Mergers, Acquisitions and Investment Highlights

Photonics is experiencing a large boom leading to thousands of inventions and new applications. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) and investments play a critical role in sustaining the growth of the photonics industry. Read our summary of M&A deals and investments in the photonics industry for November 2025.

Mergers & Acquisitions in Photonics

We’re nearly at the end of 2025, but M&As in photonics keep on coming. A total of nineteen (19) M&As were recorded for the month of November. European companies are still very much active in taking part either as acquiring or acquired company. For November, eight (8) European companies acquired key players in photonics. On the other hand, nine (9) European companies were acquired this month.

Below are some of the key M&As by EU-based companies for this month:

• Agile Robots (Germany), a leading AI-powered robotic solutions, acquired the assets of systems manufacturer thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering (Germany) to strengthen its position in next-generation smart automation solutions.
• Terma (Denmark), an aerospace, defense and security solutions provider, acquired counter-drone security and safety systems specialist OSL Technology (United Kingdom).
• Novacene Photonics (United Kingdom) acquired the intellectual property (IP) and assets of M Squared Lasers (United Kingdom). Novacene is the new company established by the former senior leadership of M Squared Lasers.
• Rohde & Schwarz (Sweden) acquired an undisclosed stake of Orbint (Germany) for signal intelligence reconnaissance from space.
• PRONETIQS (The Netherlands), an SID diagnostic software suit developer, acquired network-visualization solution specialist IntraVUE (USA), expanding its diagnostic portfolio and extending visibility from machine to network.
• Hexagon (Sweden), a measurement & positioning technologies specialist, acquired Inertial Sense (USA), a known provider of tactical-grade global navigation solutions and inertial navigation systems (GNSS+INS). The acquisition is expected to strengthen the breadth of Hexagon’s positioning portfolio.

EPIC members were likewise involved in M&As for this month. EPIC member Dispelix (Finland), a leader in diffractive waveguide displays for augmented reality (AR), was acquired by smart device solution provider AAC Technologies (Singapore). The acquisition comes after a long-standing strategic relationship between Dispelix and AAC. Germany-based member of EPIC Scantinel Photonics had its FMCW Lidar Business acquired by MicroVision (USA), a pioneer in advanced perception solutions in autonomy and mobility. The acquisition is part of MicroVision’s strategic partnership with Scantinel Photonics. EPIC member Wasatch Photonics (USA) was acquired by spectrometer specialist FOSS (Denmark) for $38.8 million, accelerating its investments in photonics and optical technologies. Silicon photonics foundry and Singapore-based EPIC member Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF) was acquired by GlobalFoundries (USA), accelerating Silicon Photonics global leadership and expanding AI infrastructure portfolio. EMTEK (Germany) acquired the majority stake of EPIC member Cubert (Germany) in a strategic acquisition resulting to the establishment of “Emtek Hyperspectral Group,” a new platform dedicated entirely to hyperspectral technologies. Canada-based EPIC member Institut National d’Optique (INO) likewise had its specialized assets to transferred to QUEL Imaging (USA), including INO’s recognized time-of-flight (ToF) optical characterization equipment, as well as its validation phantoms, long-term stability data, and detailed documentation of material properties.

Rounding up the M&As for the month of November are several big transactions across the globe. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (USA) acquired mission-critical satellite-based communication systems specialist Orbit Technologies (Israel) for $356.3 million. Space company Intuitive Machines (USA) acquired spacecraft manufacturer Lanteris Space Systems (USA) for $800 million. Vertical flight technologies developer XTI Aerospace (USA) acquired Drone Nerds (USA) for $40 million. Lastly, SunPower (USA) acquired Ambia Solar (USA) for $37.5 million in equity.

Investments

For November, twenty-eight (28) investments were recorded of which fourteen (14) were obtained by companies based in Europe, which include the following:

• Distalmotion (Switzerland), a MedTech company empowering access to robotic surgery, raised $150 million in a Series G funding round to accelerate US commercial adoption of its soft tissue robotic surgery system “DEXTER”.
• Reflex Aerospace (Germany ), a manufacturer of high-performance satellite platforms, secured €50 million in a Series A round to fuel the development and deployment of ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) and communications satellites.
• Infinite Orbits (France) raised €40 million to “accelerate the deployment of its fleet of satellites dedicated to inspection and life-extension of critical GEO assets to ensure security and sustainability of orbital operations,” among others.
• Marvel Fusion (Germany) received €30 million from the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform Scale Up scheme to build a laser-driven fusion power plant.
• Gravis Robotics (Switzerland) secured $23 million in its bid “to bring its autonomous earthmoving tech to the UK, US and EU.”
• AlixLabs (Sweden) secured €14.1 million Series A funding to “accelerate development and scaling of its proprietary Atomic Layer Etching Pitch Splitting (APS™) technology – a disruptive process that enables more cost-effective leading-edge chip manufacturing.”

• We have also noted other funding raised in other parts of the world for November, including some of these significant investments:
• Aeva (USA) raised $100 million from Apollo Funds to support its “growing commercial momentum and accelerate the adoption of FMCW 4D LiDAR across a broad range of applications.”
• Ursa Major (USA) secured $100 million in a Series E funding round to scale hypersonics, solid rocket motors and space mobility.
• Infravision (USA) received $91 million in a Series B round to aid in its goal of revolutionizing power infrastructure construction with aerial robotics.
• Neros (USA), a leading drone manufacturer, raised $75 million in Series B to accelerate expansion of the company’s industrial capacity.

EPIC members likewise secured investments or played the part of investor for the month of November. EPIC member CCRAFT from Switzerland raised €2.7 million to boost its design and manufacturing of next-generation photonic chips. NcodiN, an EPIC member based in France, secured €16 million             in a seed financing round to accelerate its development from R&D to industrial scale and enable it to “support the industrialization of its technology in a CMOS pilot line on 300 mm wafers, and the build-out of its supply chain and customer partnerships.” Lastly, EPIC members Quandela (France) and Smart Photonics (The Netherlands) were both able to secure funding from the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform Scale Up scheme. For Quandela, the funding will be used for the development of its photonic quantum computers. On the other hand, Smart Photo will use the fund in creating next generation chips.

Note: The mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as well as the investments compiled in this article are based on information readily available at the date of the publication of this article. EPIC shall update the article whenever it comes across publication of other transactions after the release of this article. Readers are encouraged to inform EPIC in case of an omission of a particular M&A or investment for the subject month. Feel free to give us an email at info@epic-photonics.com for inquiries.