Rockley Photonics is a leading integrated optics solutions provider, dedicated to building a unified silicon photonics process. As such, it is an integrated photonics chipset developer and supplier of high-volume sensor and communication products. It specialises in silicon photonics for high-growth markets, including healthcare, wearables and machine vision.

Rockley Photonics was recently established by The Sunday Times as one of the ‘Top 10 British Tech Companies to Watch’. It has partnered with multiple Tier-1 customers to deliver complex optical systems required for the realisation of transformational products.

The funding comes as the company appoints Vafa Jamali as the new chief commercial officer. Jamali has worked in medtech for over 25 years, most recently as senior vice president and president of Respiratory, Gastrointestinal and Informatics as Medtronic.

WHAT IT’S FOR

According to CEO of Rockley Photonics, Andrew Rickman: “This round provides the funding for Rockley as it moves into the next exciting growth phase and develops next generation disruptive silicon photonics powered healthcare and wellness sensors and communications products for its Tier-1 customers.”

The funding boost brings the total amount raised by the company since its launch in 2013 to develop its unique integrated platform to $225 million.

The recent investment will ensure cost-effective hyper-scale manufacturability, enabling an increased presence in health monitoring in consumer devices, data communications and machine vision.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

According to a recent report, the silicon photonics market is expected to triple in value by 2025, growing from $1 billion dollars in 2020 to $3 billion, with a CAGR of 23.4%. Other key players include NeoPhotonics, Intel, GlobalFoundries and CICSO.

ON THE RECORD

CEO Rickman continued: “It is testament to the strength of our technology and emerging market opportunities that we have attracted such a preeminent list of new investors to join many of our existing shareholders in this funding round.”

Rickman commented on the recent appointment of Jamali as COO: “Our optical sensing chipsets, with their unique analytical capabilities, bring benchtop testing capabilities to healthcare and wellbeing markets within handheld and wearable devices. Vafa’s extensive experience in the medical devices field will help to position Rockley for growth in this multibillion-dollar, high-volume market.”

Jamali added: “Personalised monitoring of multiple biophysical and biochemical biomarkers will revolutionise the way we look after our health and wellbeing. Rockley’s technology is transformative, and I am looking forward to working with the team to accelerate the company’s growth.”