June 2025 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Investment Highlights

In June 2025 we have tracked 16 acquisitions in the photonics industry , including several involving EPIC members such as InQ, Oxford Ionics, Oxford Instruments, Mycronic and Inkron.

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 June 2025.

Mergers & Acquisitions in Photonics

Summer is here, and photonics mergers and acquisitions in Europe and throughout the world is getting hotter! As we’re approaching the middle of the year, M&As in photonics keep adding up. For this month, a total of 17 M&As were observed. First, there is the merger of Covesion (United Kingdom-based PPLN waveguides and accessories manufacturer) and AdvR (non-linear optics and quantum photonics specialist from the USA). Then there are sixteen (16) acquisitions in photonics recorded world-wide this month. 

European companies actively participated either as acquiring or acquired company. In total, there were eight (8) Europe-based companies that played the role of acquiring company whereas there were nine (9) European companies that were acquired. It is worthwhile to note that, for this month, the are four (4) M&As involving European companies: 

• Avalon (Switzerland)  acquired PASAN (Switzerland) – the acquisition of Avalon (a specialist in LED-based solar simulation and photovoltaic metrology) of PASAN (recognized leader in xenon-based solar simulators and precision measurement systems) is expected to reinforce their “position as global leaders in PV testing and simulation.” 
• Hexagon (Sweden) acquired Aero Photo Europe Investigation (France) – technologies specialist Hexagon expects to “augment its geospatial data platforms” with the aerial mapping specialist Aero Photo Europe Investigation joining its team.

• NXP Semiconductors (The Netherlands) acquired TTTech Auto (Austria) – NXP’s acquisition of TTTech (a leading platform product and service provider with a focus on System, Safety and Security for the Software-Defined Vehicle) will “accelerate the transformation to software-defined vehicles.” 
• Helsing (Germany) acquires Grob Aircraft (Germany) – defense technology company Helsing’s acquisition of Grob Aircraft is expected “to accelerate innovation in aerospace and defence.”

Of course, EPIC members were likewise involved in several M&As for this month. EPIC member Oxford Ionics (United Kingdom) entered into an agreement to be acquired by IonQ (USA) in a landmark deal valued at $1.075 billion to further breakthroughs in quantum computing and “deliver innovative, reliable quantum computers that increase in power, scale, and problem-solving capabilities.” Prior to that, Oxford Instruments NanoScience Division was acquired by US-based physical property measurement systems specialist Quantum Design. EPIC member Sweden-based Mycronic, through its Global Technologies division, acquired American company Surfx to form “a new business line within the Global Technologies division.” Lastly, there is the acquisition of EPIC Member and advanced optical materials manufacturer Inkron (Finland) by Radiant Opto-Electronics (Taiwan) to improve the nanoimprint capabilities of the latter.

Rounding up this month’s M&As are several significant transactions from all over the globe, including the following: 

• Qualcomm (USA) acquired Alphawave Semi (United Kingdom) for a staggering $2.4 billion in a transaction expected to “accelerate and provide key assets” for the expansion into data centers by Qualcomm. 
• IonQ (USA) acquisition of Oxford Ionics (United Kingdom), as stated above, was made at a value of $1.075 billion.
• ARRAY Technologies, a leading solar tracking technology products, software, and services for utility-scale solar energy projects, acquired APA Solar (USA) in a transaction worth $179 million.
• Laser Photonics (USA), a leading industrial laser systems company, acquired industrial fiber and CO2 laser marking equipment manufacturer Beamer Laser Marking Systems (USA) at $4.34 per share. 

Investments

Funding for the photonics industry keeps on pouring for the month of June wherein a total of twenty two (22) investments were raised. Out of these, twelve (12) were grabbed by European companies, including the following:

• Swave Photonics (Belgium) – raised Series A funding with €6 million follow-on investment from IAG Capital Partners and Samsung Ventures to fund its holographic display technology for Spatial + AI Computing.
• Sunrise Robotics (Slovenia) – secured $8.5 million to support its goal “to elevate the world of manufacturing by introducing intelligent, flexible robots.”
• Voliro (Switzerland) – secured additional Series A capital to bring its total funding to $23 million in order to “accelerate the development and global deployment of its autonomous aerial inspection robots.”
• Orange Quantum Systems (The Netherlands) – secured €12 million in a seed round to “enable Moore’s Law scaling for quantum computing.”
• AIATELLA (Finland) – raised €2 million for the accelerated “development and scaling of its AI-powered cardiovascular imaging technology.”
• Helsing (Germany) – raised €600 million in Series D to invest in “European technological sovereignty.”

In other parts of the world, several substantial funding were likewise raised. Impulse Space (USA), for instance, raised $300 million in Series C to “accelerate the future of in-space mobility.” Infleqtion (USA) raised $100 million to “scale atom-based quantum solutions for national security and next generation intelligent systems.” Muon Space (USA) grabbed $146 million in Series B capital to “scale satellite constellations for government and commercial missions.”

Finaly, it is noteworthy that EPIC members were also actively involved in investment transactions this June by raising or providing capital. Renault Group, EPIC member from France, was among the investors that raised $75 million for Wandercraft (France) aimed at acceleration of AI-powered robotics. Long-time Dutch member of EPIC EFFECT Photonics secured an additional $24 million in Series D round to bring its total capital in the financing round at $62 million. Finally, there’s VLC Photonics from Spain, EPIC member and leader in engineering services for photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which received €5.38 million from the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism to advance PIC design and testing.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.