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As artificial intelligence systems scale to unprecedented levels, the real bottleneck is no longer computing power but data movement. Silicon photonics promises faster, cooler communication between chips—yet the industry still faces a critical challenge: manufacturing optical hardware reliably at massive scale.
In Eindhoven, construction has begun on a pioneering facility for photonic chip manufacturing. Designed to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial production, the pilot line aims to accelerate Europe’s semiconductor ambitions and unlock a new generation of faster, energy-efficient computing powered by light.
Artificial intelligence is often framed as a race for larger data centres and greater energy supply. Professor Martijn Heck argues that the real frontier lies elsewhere: in the architecture of the chip itself. By integrating electronics, photonics and advanced packaging into unified systems, heterogeneous integration may determine whether AI scales sustainably — or overwhelms the infrastructure it depends on. In this conversation, Heck outlines why better chips, not bigger factories, will shape the technological balance of the coming decades.
As AI shifts power from software to hardware, Europe confronts a deeper vulnerability: dependence on foreign compute infrastructure. Initiatives like PIXSpain aim to rebuild strategic autonomy at the physical layer — where chips, energy and photonics increasingly determine economic and geopolitical power.
