SAWNICS Makes Strategic Push into AI Photonics Foundry, Targets Initial Mass Production in Early 2027

[Financial News] SAWNICS, a specialist foundry for communications RF filters, is expanding into the photonics market for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The company is discussing foundry operations with multiple overseas AI photonics companies and is targeting initial mass production in 2027. This strategic move will expand its existing RF-focused foundry business into photonics, which is considered a key next-generation AI technology.
According to industry sources on the 21st, SAWNICS was recently selected as a performing institution for a Korea-Switzerland joint research and development (R&D) project under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's (MOTIE) Industrial Technology International Cooperation Program.
The project will involve SAWNICS and Swiss photonics specialist Luxtelligence (LXT), along with the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The research will run for three years, from this November through October 2029, with total government-funded R&D support of 1.5 billion won.
Based on its 150-mm TFLT wafer process technology, SAWNICS will be responsible for developing core processes for photonic integrated circuits (PICs), wafer manufacturing, process monitoring, and yield evaluation. The company plans to combine its manufacturing capabilities with Luxtelligence's photonics technology and commercialize photonics foundry services for customers in Korea and abroad.
SAWNICS said it is currently discussing foundry operations with multiple overseas companies involved in AI photonics. Following technology development and consultations with customers, the company aims to begin initial mass production in 2027.
As the rapid increase in AI workloads has highlighted concerns over data transfer speeds and power consumption inside data centers, photonics technology—which uses light to process and transmit data—has also drawn attention. For SAWNICS, the ability to extend its wafer process capabilities, accumulated through its existing RF foundry operations, into the photonics sector is expected to be key to securing a new growth engine.
A SAWNICS official said, "The selection of this Korea-Switzerland international joint R&D project will further strengthen the foundation for global cooperation in the photonics foundry business that SAWNICS is pursuing." The official added, "We will secure R&D results with our Swiss partner and participating institutions in Korea and abroad and connect them to a substantive foundry business and expansion into global markets."
SAWNICS plans to expand its RF-centered business portfolio into photonics by broadening its government R&D projects and cooperation with overseas specialists. In the United States, Nasdaq-listed Quantum Computing and other companies have already entered the photonics market.
[email protected] Kim Hyun-jung Reporter