Dawn of Photonic Intelligence

Photonic startups are on fire.

GPUs are hitting a wall. Copper is hitting a wall. The AI clusters we're building today are so power-hungry, so bandwidth-constrained, that the only path forward runs through light.

Dawn of Photonic Intelligence brings together executives at Nvidia, Intel and more of the people who are driving this transition for a dinner conference during Deeptech Week in SF.

On the agenda:

5PM: Arrival

530PM: Dr. Patrick Bowen presents Neurophos

6PM: Roundtable 1

• Copper’s Last Mile: How Silicon Photonics Is Reshaping AI Compute and Networking Roadmaps
  • Speakers: M. Ashkan Seyedi (NVIDIA), Susan Schofer (SOSV), Dr. Josué Lopez (DCVC) and Geoffrey Tate (Ayar Labs). Moderated by Rafic Makki (Mubadala Capital)

630PM: Francesco Manegatti presents NcodiN

645PM: Alex Maierean presents Phantom Photonics

7PM: Roundtable 2

• Building (and Betting On) the Photonic Intelligence Stack: VC Perspectives on Commercialization and Scale
  • Speakers: Josh Miner (Maverick Silicon), Srini Ananth (Intel Capital), Jerry Yang (HCVC) and Kevin Chen (Lam Capital). Moderated by Thomas Renaudin (OVNI Capital)

730PM: Scott Burroughs presents Uviquity

745PM: Julia Mossbridge presents American Electrodynamics

8PM: Dinner time.

9PM: End of event.

Full booklet with speaker profiles can be found here:
https://www.papermark.com/view/cmq0brjfu000xle04h7l0ptmi

Seats are limited. Apply to attend

Special thanks to our official sponsors:

1. Vouch, the leader in business insurance for venture-backed startups. With deep expertise in tech, Vouch delivers precise coverage as startups scale from launch to IPO. Vouch makes it easy to master insurance with a modern digital platform, 10 exclusive coverages for tech, and a curated marketplace of tech-focused carriers.
2. Dentons, the world's largest law firm and one of the most active in the startup ecosystem. Through its dedicated Venture Technology and Emerging Growth Companies practice, Dentons works with more than 2,500 startups and emerging growth clients worldwide, supporting founders on all their legal needs from formation through global expansion. With deep experience in cross-border structuring and business immigration, Dentons helps deep tech companies raise capital, scale rapidly and seamlessly move talent across borders as they grow from launch to global scale.
3. SVB, a division of First Citizens Bank, the financial partner to the innovation economy. For more than 40 years, SVB has been the bank of choice for the world's most innovative companies and the investors who back them, serving startups and venture capital, private equity and corporate venture funds from pre-seed through IPO and beyond. With deep sector expertise across technology, life sciences and healthcare, plus the strength and stability of First Citizens, a 125-year-old institution, SVB helps founders and funds raise capital, manage growth and navigate complexity at every stage of their journey.

Hosted by OVNI Capital · Deeptech Week San Francisco · June 23, 2025