Panel session: Photonics for AI
Tuesday, February 24th 2026, 11:30-13:00
Photonics is seeing its greatest ever boom, driven by the voracious demand for optical equipment in AI infrastructure which is projected to consume ever increasing proportions of the planet’s energy and resources. This is maxing out supply chains and driving aggressive innovation in the evolution from copper to light to reduce the energy demand whilst increasing AI performance.
Venture capital investment in the sector is soaring with leading university academics spinning out companies with radical solutions to increase power efficiency and performance. Meanwhile, large companies drive hard to scale capacity and bring exciting new products to market.
Our panel brings together the CTO of a major public photonics company, academics from Oxford University and UCL who have cofounded innovative companies in photonic compute and photonic networking, together with a partner of a leading of a Venture Capital firm investing in the sector.
This panel will discuss the opportunities and challenges for the sector as it struggles to scale and innovate. Areas of interest will include:
- Long timers in the sector remember the telecom bubble, is this the same?
- How can the sector manage agile development when manufacturing plants are consumed with increasing volumes?
- In the rush for capacity, can the sector accommodate radical rather than incremental innovation?
- UK universities have world leading research in this field, what should be their role in carrying the industry forward?
- Does the UK have the investment needed to compete on a world stage, in a world of ever more complex geopolitics?
- Where is photonics going to go next in AI?
Participants:
- Chair: James Regan, Oriole Networks
- Panelists:
– Professor George Zervas, UCL and Oriole Networks
– Dr Xianxin Guo, Lumai
– Dave Grimm, Albion
– Matt Sysak, Lumentum
George Zervas
George Zervas is the Co-Founder and CTO of Oriole with over two decades of research experience in advancing AI systems and optical networks. He holds an MEng in Electronic and Telecommunication Systems Engineering and a PhD in optical networks from the University of Essex (UK). In addition, George is a Professor and EPSRC Fellow at UCL and has authored more than 300 scientific papers. He has filed multiple patents and led or contributed to R&D initiatives exceeding £50 million in value.
Dave Grimm
David Grimm is a Partner at AlbionVC, where he focuses on deeptech investments across quantum computing, machine learning and AI, and hardware. He brings over a decade of experience investing in early-stage, IP rich companies, including four years at Spark Ventures. David began his career at Detica, before moving to China to work in an FMCG startup, a shift that sparked his move into venture investing driven by impact through high-growth businesses. He holds an M.Sci in Natural Sciences (Mathematics and Chemistry).
Xianxin Guo
Xianxin is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lumai Ltd., an Oxford University spin-out pioneering disruptive optical computing technologies for AI and data-centre acceleration. He brings over 15 years of experience in physics and engineering, and was previously an RCE 1851 Research Fellow, a prestigious fellowship whose past awardees include eight Nobel Laureates.
James Regan
James is a physicist with more than 30 years’ experience leading businesses in the optical communications industry and creating companies out of university research. As CEO and co-founder of recent spin-out Oriole Networks he leads one of the UK’s few system-level optical networking companies. He previously created and led spin-outs EFFECT Photonics and Venture Photonics and built successful businesses within Agility communications and Nortel Networks. He has led businesses in highspeed transmission, photonic integration, optical amplification, photonic switching and optical components and modules.
Matt Sysak
Matt Sysak is the Global Chief Technology Officer at Lumentum. He has more than 20 years of experience with Silicon Photonics, IIIV optical components and systems, along with CMOS validation, test, and packaging. Previously, Matt was the VP of laser and Platform Engineering at Ayar Labs where he was responsible for leading laser strategy, customer engagements, and backend engineering. Prior to Ayar Labs, Matt held several senior positions at Intel, where his graduate research on Hybrid Silicon Lasers was commercialized and has now shipped millions of units. Matt holds an MS and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.