ANDOVER, MA, May 14, 2026 – Lightium selected Aras Innovator to manage data, simulations and design processes for photonic chip development. The company will use the software to organize part structures, project work and photonics-specific workflows as it scales 200 mm photonic chip manufacturing for data center systems.
Lightium develops photonic integrated circuits that transmit data using light instead of electrical signals. The technology targets data center infrastructure, where bandwidth, energy use and development complexity remain key engineering constraints.
“In modern AI data centers, the biggest bottleneck is no longer computing power, but the transmission of data,” said Amir H. Ghadimi, co-founder & CEO of Lightium. “This is exactly where we come in: with photonic integrated circuits, we can scale performance beyond today’s technologies while significantly reducing energy consumption.”
“Unlike more established industries such as electronics or mechanical engineering, photonics has no established PLM standards, as development sits between software-driven approaches and traditional hardware and industrial processes—making flexibility essential. This is why Aras Innovator was such a great fit for our needs,” said Kevin Radican, head of data at Lightium.
Aras Innovator will connect Lightium’s development data, simulations and process information across teams. The software also supports custom front-end applications for photonics workflows and daily engineering use. Lightium is implementing the system while using AI-driven methods to refine development workflows.
“Lightium represents a new generation of high-tech innovators taking a fundamentally different approach to how photonic integrated circuits are developed,” said Matthias Fohrer, vice president, EMEA, Aras. “In a field where established frameworks are still evolving, success depends on a foundation that can adapt to their approach while supporting scale.”
Lightium provides foundry services for photonic chips based on 200 mm manufacturing processes. The company says its technology reduces energy consumption by more than 30% compared with conventional systems. Current systems support transmission rates of up to 800 Gbit/s, while the next generation targets 1.6 Tbit/s. Lightium is working toward speeds above 6 Tbit/s in the coming years.
Source: Aras
About Lightium
Lightium AG is a Swiss photonics company that provides thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), photonic integrated circuit foundry and design services. The company supports prototyping and production for customers developing optical and photonic chips. It serves data center, telecom, datacom, quantum computing, AI and space-related industries. Lightium was founded in 2023 by Dr. Amir Ghadimi, Dr. Frédéric Loizeau and Prof. Dirk Englund. Its headquarters are in Schlieren, Switzerland. The company works on TFLN-based photonic integrated circuits, including 200 mm wafer manufacturing processes.
About Aras
Aras Corp., founded in 2000 by Peter Schroer, provides product lifecycle management and digital thread solutions. The company is based in Andover, Mass., with additional offices in Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. Its primary offering, the Aras Innovator platform, is a low-code system designed to support product development and lifecycle management across industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, manufacturing, energy, life sciences, shipbuilding and medical devices. The platform enables users to access product data and manage processes across disciplines, spanning the full product lifecycle and extended supply chain. Aras employs approx. 650 people worldwide, and serves more than 350 global customers.