First AI-driven platform for testing photonic chips

A Swiss startup, a US AI pioneer, and a Taiwanese hardware giant have come together to solve one of the most pressing—and underestimated—challenges in photonics today: how to test photonic integrated circuits (PICs) at scale, with precision and efficiency.
 

Lightium (Switzerland), Axiomatic_AI (USA), and MPI Corporation (Taiwan) announce a strategic partnership to develop the world’s first Intelligent, Autonomous, and Integrated Test Solution (IAITS) for PICs.
 

Why this matters:

Photonic chips are at the heart of breakthroughs in AI, quantum, 5G/6G, and high-performance computing. But the tools to test them haven’t kept up. Traditional test setups are slow, labor-intensive, and ill-equipped for ultra-high-speed devices.

Testing has become the bottleneck.

This is where IAITS comes in:

An AI-powered, fully integrated solution that automates and optimizes PIC testing, reducing human workload, cutting iteration time, and enabling testing beyond 100 GHz, from lab to fab.
 

Who’s behind it:

• Lightium AG – A Swiss TFLN photonics foundry with unmatched know-how in ultra-high-speed PIC testing
   
• MPI Corporation – A world leader in wafer probing systems and automation platforms
   
• Axiomatic_AI Inc. – A Boston-based startup redefining deep-tech development with physics-based reasoning AI
   

IAITS will be commercially available as a software add-on for MPI’s probing systems, supporting both prototyping and high-volume PIC production.
 

The full announcement can be found here:

7 August 2025, Christian Bosshard

360 CARLA creates a centralized database for internship opportunities where European organizations and institutions can promote and give visibility to their internships. It is a new element directed to STEM university students and early-stage researchers to help them find internship offers in the photonics ecosystem.