May 2026 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 May 2026. 

Mergers & Acquisitions in Photonics 

We’re into the fifth month of 2026 and we’re continuing to witness significant collaboration between key players in the photonics industry. This May, a total of twenty-six (26) M&As recorded all throughout the globe consisting of twenty-four (24) acquisitions and two (2) mergers. Six (6) of the acquisitions for May were made by European-based companies while ten (10) companies from Europe were acquired.   

Let’s take a look at the mergers for this month. First, there’s the business combination transaction between quantum technology specialist Terra Quantum (Switzerland) and Axiom Intelligence Acquisition Corp 1 (United Kingdom), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, with a $3.5 billion equity valuation. With this merger, Terra Quantum will become a publicly listed company. This is the second straight month wherein Terra Quantum entered into a business combination agreement, the first one being the transaction with Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. II last April. The second merger for this month is between laser entertainment technology specialist Pangolin (USA) and special effect equipment company Artistry In Motion (USA), which transaction is expected to result into a “broader special-effects toolkit” for Pangolin. 

Below are some of the key M&As involving European companies this May: 

• Blueacre Technology (Ireland), a laser micromachining specialist, was acquired by catheters and medical tubing manufacturer AP Technologies (United Kingdom) to extend its “catheter platform into the laser-processed metallic components used in next-generation minimally invasive devices.” 

• Intuitive Machines (USA), a space technology company, acquired deep space communications provider Goonhilly Earth Station (United Kingdom) to expand its global ground station resources and capacity. 

• NIRLAB AG (Switzerland), a near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy specialist, was acquired by purpose-built handheld devices for chemical analysis manufacturer 908 Devices (USA) to improve the latter’s analytical portfolio and strengthen its leadership in narcotics detection. 

• Quantum Machines (USA), a hybrid quantum-classical control solutions provider, acquired QHarbor (The Netherlands), a TU Delft spin-off, to establish a base in Europe and expand its software platform. 

• NMi Group (The Netherlands), an Advisory, Testing, Inspection, Certification and Calibration (ATICC) services provider, acquired  testing and analytical laboratory company TechnoLab (Germany) in order to broaden its sector footprint, among others. 

• ROBOZE (Italy), a developer of advanced production platforms for mission-critical industries, acquired key assets from Dimanex (The Netherlands) to “build the Physical AI Layer for distributed manufacturing.” 

• ABB (Switzerland), one of the leaders in electrification and automation, acquired Specialtrasfo (Italy) to improve “competitiveness and supply chain resilience amid rising global electricity demand, with integrated, in-house offering.” 

Highlighting the continuing and growing collaboration between EPIC members are four (4) acquisitions made by members of the association. Three (3) of these transactions were concluded between members of EPIC as acquiring and acquired company. US-based EPIC member and materials engineering solutions provider Applied Materials acquired the NEXX Business of ASMPT, a member of EPIC headquartered in Singapore. With the acquisition, Applied Materials improved its “portfolio of panel-level advanced packaging technologies.” Next, there is the acquisition by ultrafast technology leader and member of EPIC Light Conversion (Lithuania) of Class 5 Photonics, a laser system manufacturer based in Germany and another EPIC member, in a transaction expected to strengthen the market positions of both companies. Indie Semiconductor, a member of EPIC from the USA and an automotive solutions innovator, acquired the CMOS image sensor business of EPIC member ams Osram (Austria), resulting to a boost in the ADAS portfolio of Indie and supporting its expansion into physical AI. Lastly, EPIC member HEF Groupe (France) acquired Evaporated Coatings (USA), an advanced optical thin film coatings  specialist, to improve its manufacturing footprint and technological capabilities in North America.  

Rounding up the M&As for this month are the other significant transactions all throughout the globe: 

• Analog Devices (USA), a global semiconductor company, acquired AI specialist Empower Semiconductor (USA) for $1.5 billion in an all-cash purchase transaction, thereby expanding its next-generation high-density power portfolio to address challenges in the AI era. 

• Iridium Communications (USA), provider of global voice, data, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite services, acquired for $366.7 million Aireon (USA), a provider of space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) air traffic surveillance system. The acquisition will enable Iridum to “provide the foundational architecture for global aviation safety, bringing space-based surveillance, safety communications, PNT, and operational data together on a single network.” 

• Lumen  (USA), a leading telecommunications company, acquired Alkira (USA), a provider of cloud-native, carrier-agnostic networking platform to establish a control plane for cloud connectivity. 

• Inox Clean Energy (India), an energy company serving as integrated renewable energy platform of the INOXGFL Group, acquired solar module manufacturer Boviet Solar Technology (USA) for $750 million. 

• FORT Robotics (USA), a leading robotics and automation company, acquired Mapless AI (USA), a specialist in vehicle teleoperation and autonomy supervision, enabling Fort to expand its capabilities to include, among others, remote teleoperation and onboard active safety. 

Investments 

A total of forty-five (45) investments in photonics and related industries have been noted for the month of May, with twenty-two (22) European companies securing needed funding to fuel and/or expand their activities and capabilities. Let’s take a look some of the key investments secured by companies based in Europe this May: 

• Focused Energy (Germany), a leading laser fusion company, secured a $240 million Series A funding. The investment makes Focused Energy the most valuable fusion company in Europe. 

• Quantum Motion (United Kingdom), a silicon transistor-based quantum computing specialist, raised $160 million in a Series C round for commercialization of its scalable and energy-efficient approach to quantum computing. 

• Zadient Materials Europe (Germany) secured a €66 million funding from the European Commission to build a new facility in Saxony-Anhalt to manufacture ultra-pure silicon carbide (SiC). 

• Nyobolt (United Kingdom), a specialist in ultra-fast, high-power, energy technology company, obtained a Series C $60 million funding to accelerate its mission to “deliver instant power for the world’s most demanding robotics & automation applications and AI data centres.”  

• eleQtron (Germany), a leading deep-tech company and developer of ion-trap-based quantum computers, secured a €57 million Series A funding in order to “build scalable production capacities, expand cloud-based access to the systems, and further develop the hardware platform.” 

Significant investments were likewise obtained by players in the industry across the globe this month: 

• HawkEye 360 (USA), a signals intelligence provider, secured a $416 million funding on the same day when it debuted in the New York Stock Exchange.  

• Orbcomm (USA), a provider of mission-critical industrial IoT solutions, raised $460 million to support its growth. 

• POET Technologies (Canada), one of the leading designers and developers of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), raised $400 million to “scale manufacturing and accelerate product leadership in photonic interconnect solutions for frontier AI.” 

• Astranis (USA), a leading manufacturer of satellites, secured $300 million in a Series E round to meet increasing need for advanced high-orbit spacecraft. 

• Photonic Inc. (Canada), a distributed quantum computing specialist, raised $200 million to fuel its mission in developing commercial-grade quantum computing. 

Of course, EPIC members also secured and provided funding opportunities for this month. Kacentric Optics, an EPIC member from France, raised €1.2 million in a seed funding round to support its development of next-generation test and measurement devices. ZEISS, a long-time member of EPIC from Germany, secured a €222 million funding from the European Commission to fund the establishment of a new facility for the production of next-generation components for EUV lithography machines. On the other hand, Germany-based EPIC member Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and the investment arm of Belgium-based and long-time member of EPIC imec (imex.xpand) were among the investors in the €40 million Series A round for Eyeo (The Netherlands), developer of advanced nanophotonic color-splitting technology, to accelerate its sensor design capabilities. Meanwhile, the Intel Capital (the investment arm of EPIC member Intel), contributed to the funding rounds of QuantWare (The Netherlands) and Hark (USA). QuantWare raised €152 million in its Series B funding round to build the “most powerful quantum processors at an industrial scale”, while Hark secured $700 million in its Series A round to fuel its goal to develop the “most advanced, personal intelligence in the world.” Lastly, ZEISS Ventures, the venture-capital arm of EPIC member ZEISS (Germany), invested in Maculaser (Finland) to help the latter develop temperature-controlled retinal laser therapy. 

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.