Photonium

What do they actually do

Photonium pairs short optical-engineering consulting engagements with an AI‑assisted design platform that is in early commercial use via demos. The company explicitly offers “book a software demo” alongside consulting, and targets teams building optical systems across LiDAR/autonomy, biomedical imaging, semiconductor metrology, aerospace/defense, and quantum applications site/product services YC launch YC company page.

On projects, Photonium delivers concrete engineering artifacts: feasibility studies; Zemax/OpticStudio prescriptions; ISO 10110 drawings; Monte‑Carlo tolerance/yield analyses; automation scripts; and supplier‑ready documentation/BOMs. They integrate with existing tools (e.g., Zemax/OpticStudio) and support cloud or on‑prem deployments for sensitive programs. Their work cadence emphasizes short, outcome‑focused sprints (e.g., “Feasibility Sprints” 1–2 weeks; “Design & Tolerancing” 2–6 weeks) and a scoped workflow (“Scope → Explore → Iterate → Validate → Handoff”) with human review of AI outputs before handoff services process product.

Who are their target customer(s)

• R&D optics lead at an autonomy/LiDAR company: Needs to iterate optical designs quickly to trade off range, size, and cost; current workflows are slow and manual, limiting exploration.
• Product engineering manager at a biomedical imaging startup: Must turn lab prototypes into reproducible, manufacturable instruments with regulator‑friendly documentation but lacks in‑house optics capacity for supplier‑ready drawings and BOMs.
• Head of optical systems at an aerospace/defense program: Requires validated designs, strict tolerancing, and deployment options that meet security constraints; cannot rely on unvetted cloud tools or raw AI output.
• Metrology/semiconductor optics engineer: Works with extremely tight tolerances and high yield targets; brute‑force tolerancing simulations are slow and delay product ramps.
• Founder/CTO of a hardware startup without an optics team: Needs a fast feasibility check and path to a manufacturable design without hiring senior optics engineers, or timelines and costs will slip.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Close paid, outcome‑focused consulting sprints via the founders’ network and YC introductions, selling 1–2 week Feasibility Sprints that deliver Zemax files, tolerance analyses, and supplier‑ready handoffs; follow with case studies and permissioned demos to create references services YC launch.
• First 50: Turn early references into targeted outbound by vertical (LiDAR, biomedical, metrology, defense), run technical demos of automated exploration/tolerancing, and sell short paid pilots mapped to the proven sprint scope; publish verticalized one‑page templates to shorten sales cycles product services.
• First 100: Productize repeatable workflows so small teams can buy guided pilots with minimal scoping, while enterprise reps sell on‑prem/secure deployments; add channel partners (optics manufacturers, contract houses, Zemax integrators, supplier networks) to resell or co‑deliver handoffs product.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The directly comparable software market—optical‑design software—is estimated around $1.2–1.3B in 2024 and growing, while the broader photonics economy is much larger (≈$2.4T in photonics‑enabled products; ≈$368B in core components) market sizing SPIE report.

Bottom-up calculation:

If even 1–3% of the ~$368B core photonics components market is spent on external design/validation services, that implies roughly $3.7–$11B in annual consulting spend; adding the ~$1.2B optical‑design software market yields a practical near‑term opportunity in the low‑ to mid‑single‑digit billions SPIE optical design software.

Assumptions:

• Published optical‑design software estimates approximate the addressable software spend for Photonium’s product.
• 1–3% of core photonics component revenue is directed to external design/validation/consulting (illustrative but not verified).
• Photonium can convert a portion of services demand into paid software seats across target verticals over time.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Ansys Zemax OpticStudio: Industry‑standard lens and optical system design software with optimization and tolerancing; a primary incumbent tool in Photonium’s users’ workflows.
• Synopsys CODE V / LightTools: Widely used optical and illumination design tools with strong enterprise footprint; direct alternatives for many design tasks Photonium targets.
• Lambda Research TracePro: Ray‑tracing and stray‑light analysis software used for illumination and optical system modeling; competes on simulation depth and established usage.
• COMSOL Multiphysics (Wave Optics): General multiphysics simulation platform with wave‑optics and photonics modules; used for cases requiring coupled physics beyond classical ray optics.
• Edmund Optics Design & Engineering Services: Optics manufacturer offering design, engineering, and build services; competes for consulting and turnkey handoffs from design to production.