Photonics Finland Part 1: From Lasers to Products

In this special episode recorded at Optics and Photonics Days 2026 in Jyväskylä, Finland, we speak with:

• Juha Purmonen — Photonics Finland
• Matti Pesonen — Noptel
• Julia Mattia — Laser 2000
• Derrick Defever — TactoTek
• Pierre Brochard — Silentsys
• Oliver Grass — Assemblify

Together, we explore the technologies quietly powering the future of AI, quantum systems, lidar, sensing, and advanced manufacturing.

Our guests explain how Finland built one of Europe's strongest photonics ecosystems, how laser-based measurement systems perform in challenging environments, what it takes to commercialize photonics technologies, and why ultra-low-noise lasers are becoming essential for next-generation quantum applications.

We also discuss smart surfaces with embedded electronics, supply chains for deep-tech hardware, manufacturing at scale, certification challenges, and the realities of turning cutting-edge research into successful products.

Whether you're interested in photonics, optics, lasers, quantum technology, AI infrastructure, or hardware innovation, this episode offers a practical look at the people and companies building the foundations of tomorrow's technology.

Transcript

Kasey Snyder 0:01

Hi, I'm Kasey Snyder, your host for this two-part special from Global Edge Talk. I share the stories of the builders, scientists, and operators changing the world from the Nordics. I just got back from Jyväskylä, Finland, where I spent three days at the Optics and Photonics Days 2026, the biggest photonics gathering in the Nordics. If you're wondering why these stories are relevant, remember that Nvidia just dropped $4 billion into optical companies because AI infrastructure runs on light now, and a lot of that technology making it possible is being built right here. You're going to hear from six people who are actually doing the work. Juha Purmonen leads Photonics Finland. He is the key orchestrator behind this cluster. Matti Pesonen from Noptel, which has been building laser sensors long before LIDAR even became a buzzword. Julia Matias is from Laser 2000. That's Europe's photonics distribution backbone, about 40 years in the making. You'll also hear from Derrick Defever from TactoTek, a company that embeds electronics directly into plastic surfaces. And Pierre Brochard from Silentsys, making the quietest, most stable lasers commercially available. And finally, Oliver Grass from Assemblify, who specializes in getting deep tech from prototype to product. Now let's get started. Okay, Juha, thank you so much for sitting down with me. Could you just quickly introduce yourself and tell me a bit about Photonics Finland?

Juha Purmonen 1:40

So my name is Juha Purmonen. I'm the executive director of Photonics Finland. So Photonics Finland is a non-profit organization, which is a contact point of the photonics in Finland. So we are collecting together with the academia, industry, and also those who are using the photonics. However, we are also collecting together with those photonics researchers. So in the same umbrella.

Kasey Snyder 2:10

And now we've been here in Jyväskylä for the week, and I've realized that you have amassed an incredible group of people. Explain to me what your vision for the optics and photonics days is and what the purpose of this conference is.

Juha Purmonen 2:35

So for example, here in Jyväskylä, there is a lot of activities now in dual use, so defense activities. So we have a session for that. So that's also the one of the sessions. In global, it's very interesting about the augmented reality applications and the technology behind that. And then the photonics integrated circuits and quantum photonics. So those are, for example, those industries. So we have a lot of fun, but also very serious topics on the discussion.

Kasey Snyder 3:09

And I feel like uh terms like semiconductors, chips, and quantum computing are big buzzwords. So a lot of us are getting more and more familiar. But maybe photonics and optics has taken a back seat. So what would you want people to understand about the photonics and optics space?

Juha Purmonen 3:25

Yeah, that's a very interesting question and interesting point. So photonics is that kind of key anepling technology. Many times it is behind and give uh the solution difficult problems. And for example, those computing, quantum technology, so photonics is behind of that. So you need there the laser, you need the optics, you need the metamaterials, you need the meta optics, and so on. So those are very important part of those buzzwords. So that's that sense probably people are not understanding that what is the really meaning of photonics. And one of the things what photonics Finland is doing, we try to bring out that why photonics is so important.

Kasey Snyder 4:09

And my last question for you we've come to understand that the photonics and optics community here in Finland is very robust. And the amount of innovation and research that's going on here kind of far surpasses what you would expect for such a small place. Do you have any insights or can you share any ideas about why you think we've been so successful here?

Juha Purmonen 4:28

That's also what we are wondering many times that why it's so. One thing what I think that is that uh it is a lack of money. And the reason why it's lack of money, so every of university has to focus on short-time topics of photonics. So we have a great community in different cities and under the different universities. So probably that's the one. The other thing is why why it's so successful is that we can bring them together. We have a very great technology in different cities, and we are bringing them together. So that's probably the strength of Finland.

Kasey Snyder 5:04

And of course the CISU, we know that's always behind everything that we put. Thank you so much for your time. It was wonderful chatting with you. Thank you very much. Okay, hi Matti. Nice to speak with you today. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling me a little bit about Noptel?

Matti Pesonen 5:26

Okay, see. My name is Matti Pesonen. I'm uh representing a company called Noptel. We are located there in northern Finland in Olu, next to Olu University. And actually, uh, Noptel is 44 years old, spin-off from Olu University. Back then uh they started to uh develop these uh laser sensing technologies in there, and the history has been quite long with different products, and we've been doing uh shooting training systems back in the back in the day, and also a lot of uh different uh traffic applications, uh spinning sensors and such things. And uh well nowadays we do manufacture and design these lasers uh laser rangefinder modules, which are basically components, they are not uh radio systems but components. And the other sector of ours is um the traffic uh applications, uh and there we have our line lighter sensor, which is a compact measurement sensor for uh quite uh short distance measurements. But uh these two sectors are a little bit different from each other. The line lighter sensor you can uh just plug and play. Basically, of course, it needs some kind of algorithm to play with. But on the other hand, these uh long-distance laser range running modules are always integrated into some bigger systems with different cameras and IR systems and so very good.

Kasey Snyder 6:50

Now I understand, as you've mentioned, that Noptel has been building laser sensing products in Finland for decades, long before terms like LIDAR and autonomous vehicles have become a household name. So help me understand what this long history brings to Noptel. What advantage does it create for you?

Matti Pesonen 7:09

Well, of course, as I mentioned, we have had a strong collaboration with uh Oli University and their optoelectronics knowledge. But of course, we have a very strong background in-house and uh a lot of knowledge of these uh technologies, and we also have our own IC uh design in-house, and uh yeah, we we we know our product, and uh we tend to uh kind of uh be pessimistic with our specifications and we know what we are doing.

Kasey Snyder 7:40

I like that. Very good. Uh now you mentioned two different types of products for me, so help me understand. There is a laser range finder module, which is a 1D sensor. And then the second thing you mentioned is a line LIDAR sensor. Could you give me an idea of practical applications for both of these?

Matti Pesonen 7:58

Well, these uh laser rangefinder modules, of course, they go to uh various different applications. They can be uh handheld devices like uh rifle sights or binoculars or night vision goggles, even small devices, portable devices, but on the other hand, they can be on uh on drones, on counter drone systems, border control, or big naval systems on a battleship or whatever. So there's a lot of uh different uh sizes and uh different distances you need to measure. And of course, uh there's so many uh different applications for laser rangefinder models. And on the other hand, the uh line lighter sensor is sending a thin line of laser and it measures 256 points from that line and is kind of a short distance measurement, less than 100 meters distance, but it is returning those 256 points from that line. And basically, if you're moving the sensor, uh you get a 3D point cloud from that data. Or if the sensor is static and the object is moving through that uh line of measurement, you get a 3D point cloud from that object. But of course, you can use it for uh triggering something. If if something uh passes the line of measurement, it can trigger a camera or whatever. And the uh our our line lighter sensor is using our own design of uh detector inside is so-called a single photon technology, which means that it can see in really bad conditions as well, because i it can basically detect single photons, and uh whereas old laser technology gets oversaturated very easily in in dusty or rainy or snowy conditions, our sensor will keep measuring in in very bad conditions as well.

Kasey Snyder 9:46

Do you think the environment and the weather conditions here in Finland and especially far to the north in the Olu area, did that have an impact on being able to create this type of technology?

Matti Pesonen 9:57

We know that other companies do have the same kind of technology as well. But of course, uh in traffic applications, there's always uh kind of a chance of bad weather and uh for road tolling systems also. It means that you're losing money if you can't measure measure things and uh so on. And uh one of the applications for the line lidar is uh snow snow measurement on on uh snowy roads uh for plowing control. So that whereas the uh the old technology will get oversaturated and stop measuring during the snowfall, but our our sensor can keep measuring when when it's still snowing.

Kasey Snyder 10:34

Okay, well, I think you've clearly expressed how this is real dual-use technology. So I understand the defense perspective, but also the commercial applications. So that's really fascinating. Let's shift over to the safety perspective. Could you tell me a little bit about uh the technology that you're using that uh protects specifically damage to people's eyes? I think that's a big concern when it comes to lasers.

Matti Pesonen 10:57

Yeah, those two things basically are linked together. Our laser technology is using very low powers, and uh that is also the reason they are eye-safe, and in all conditions they are eye-safe. From some of our most powerful laser rangefinder modules can be laser class 1, whereas all of the other products are laser class one. So that means all of our products are eye-safe in all conditions. One means that uh it can be uh damaging to your eyes if you look to them directly with a with a sight or binoculars or something. So but as I mentioned, the low powers mean that our products are not dual-use products. Okay, these are civilian products.

Kasey Snyder 11:45

Interesting. Thank you for clarifying. That is a great point. Very good. Okay, well, last question for you here. I want to understand what exactly is bringing you to the optics and photonics days 2026 in Jyväskylä . So if we had an international systems integration company here listening, what would you want to share with them and what would they be finding here at the conference?

Matti Pesonen 12:08

Well, we've been part of Photonics Finland for I don't know how long, tens of years maybe. And it's always a pleasure to join these meetings and uh chat with uh with uh with uh other people who we already know. But of course, the it's the the the these events are growing all the time, and there's new people coming in. And uh, of course, you never know who you're gonna meet.

Kasey Snyder 12:30

Yeah, that's true, especially in mid-Finland. I'm surprised by the interesting international audience we have here.

Matti Pesonen 12:35

So that is true as well.

Kasey Snyder 12:36

Very nice. Well, thank you so much for sitting down with me. It was wonderful to learn more about Nopetel, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference.

Matti Pesonen 12:42

Thank you very much.

Kasey Snyder 12:52

Okay, next I'm here with Julia Matis, area lead for the Nordics and Baltics at Laser 2000. Hi, Julia. Hi. Thank you so much for sitting down to talk with me. Could you tell me a little bit about your role at Laser 2000 and what you're doing here at the OPD 2026 conference?

Julia Mattia 13:11

Absolutely, of course. Well, my role is to take care of our customers and the relationships in the Nordics and Baltics countries. And uh, I'm doing this for a year now. Oh, congratulations. So it's basically my second OPD. And uh I work for Laser 2000, which means, of course, we have laser in the name, but we're not only working with lasers. So it's um basically a very established company, and we will celebrate our 40th birthday this year. Wow, very nice. It's a long-standing legacy company there.

Kasey Snyder 13:44

It is, it absolutely is, and it's very fun. Very good. Well, I understand that at Laser 2000 you recognize yourselves more as technical partners to your customers. So, would you be able to describe how you would support a customer and maybe a specific challenge that you help them to overcome?

Julia Mattia 14:03

Absolutely, absolutely. So, as more rather independent consultants, we focus on connecting the different photonics elements. So we're not only active in one application or one market. We work with different suppliers. And even if we right now don't have a contract with one supplier, but we can find someone else who might solve a solution or even discuss with our suppliers if they can create a solution for a certain problem, we can do that because we are actually very close partners with them. So it's not just supplier-customer relationship, but a really back and forth partnership. And that is also what we very much value with our, well, customers at the end, because we learn from them from their applications. And what is really fun is when you sit down with someone and we can do a feasibility study to figure out, for example, in a lab setting for some research for the environment, to check which lights would be best combined with which filters and which camera in order to really extract the best quality of data for their research. So in that matter, we're not just selling a product, but we can really help build the right setup equipment when they want to build a new facility. And they really need to structure and figure out how what do we need to consider for the certain applications, in which rooms, what kind of laser safety requirement is really needed. And then we can already help them in the building phase, in the planning phase, to choose the right setup.

Kasey Snyder 15:41

So it sounds like you really want to be involved at an early stage of a conversation with a new project so that you can guide your customers and they're not making perhaps mistakes that will come to cost them in the long run. Yes. And you're also very focused on their overall success. So we're not just trying to solve for one particular problem, but we're looking at the overall strategy or what they're trying to accomplish.

Julia Mattia 16:03

Absolutely, absolutely. The question is basically how can we make them more successful? And we can go from, as I said, feasibility studies or even a first test setup to helping them to scale their system. And then we we simply just provide the solution or the parts for that at the end, and they can manufacture their solution themselves. So we're not doing any production ourselves, but we help them choose the right part.

Kasey Snyder 16:33

Okay, that makes sense. Now you and I are meeting all the way out here in Jyväskylä Finland, mid-Finland for OPD 2026. And I'm wondering uh what unique technical advantages do Finnish photonics companies offer that are currently very attractive to your partners.

Julia Mattia 16:52

Well, I think it's the kind of the competitiveness of Finnish people that is in the Finnish companies and that you basically can find in the innovation, in the drive to do better, in the drive to exceed with the solutions. And that makes the whole partnership really interesting.

Kasey Snyder 17:10

But that's nice to hear. I think we often talk about Cisu here in Finland, and it sounds like that's something that you find as a competitive advantage. So I think so, yes. I like that. Now shifting gears a little bit, what would you have to say regarding green photonics? Are you seeing any uh demand for energy efficient products or perhaps applications that are in environmental monitoring or something of that nature?

Julia Mattia 17:36

Yes, a little bit. On the one hand side, I see a demand for shorter, shorter deliveries or more a local approach. I would put it like that, a rather local approach for the sourcing of the materials. It's really important for many of our partners to have an understanding of the whole of sourcing from the materials. And I as well see on the other hand side a lot of research going on about environmental topics, farming, landscape, global topics, environment, global temperatures, uh monitoring.

Kasey Snyder 18:13

And my last question for you. Now, again, we're here in Finland, so I want to understand a little bit about the sort of help you can provide to the innovative Finnish companies who are trying to navigate the complexities of entering a big market like the United States. What would you offer to them?

Julia Mattia 18:29

What one of the core strengths of Laser 2000 is that we are a team of very connected people all over Europe. And we have a lot of exchange of our knowledge and of our market experiences throughout the different countries and the different landscapes. At the back end of that sits a really, really, really good team for import and export. They navigate all the rules, all the lists of customers that might be in some kind of import-export considerations, depending on which country we are working with. And they have a really long-standing experience and a really deep knowledge of that. Also have a really deep connection to the customs. Okay, the customs apartment in Germany.

Kasey Snyder 19:16

Okay, excellent. That sounds like a really valuable support that you can provide. Well, it was lovely chatting with you. Thank you so much for your time. Most welcome. Thank you. Okay. Derrick, thank you so much for sitting down to meet with me. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about Tacto Tek?

Derrick Defever 19:41

Yeah, thank you for having me, Kasey. So my name's Derrick Defever. So I joined Tacto Tek just over a year ago. We just passed my one-year anniversary here. And I'm coming from the automotive world for the last 12 years. I've joined TactoTek as sales and business development for North America. So TactoTek is a technology-based company with the product of IMSE. So it's in-molded structural electronics, which I think we'll get into a little bit in our conversation today. And TactoTek is really getting into the automotive world. And so that's what brought me into the picture, coming from 12 years in automotive, working at multiple different tier ones, having those connections into the OEMs. So that made for a perfect combination between myself and TactoTek Company to help with those North American OEMs, North American tiers, establishing the different partnerships and connections that I can bring to the table for Tacto Tek. And so that's what brought me over here to Finland, joining the team here, where we license our technology out to those different partners, and we are really starting to break forward into that automotive world. We've had some good big business wins and partnerships over this last year.

Kasey Snyder 20:48

Awesome. That's great to hear. And just to clarify, we know that TactoTek is headquartered in Olu, Finland. Is that right?

Derrick Defever 20:56

Yes, that's right. So that's the company's been around for about 15 years now. And there's about 65 employees here at the office in Olu. And probably 40 of them have either come from the Nokia world or some supplier within there. So that was kind of where the technology stems from and where you find a lot of the uh employees here are having their roots and that's fantastic.

Kasey Snyder 21:19

We often hear the story of the Nokia legacy and some of the incredible talent that came to Finland during that time. But also wonderful to hear that TactoTech now has a presence in the US as well. And you know, you're representing the company there. So thank you for sharing. If I understand correctly, Tacto Tek puts electronics, lights, and sensors actually inside the surface of a product instead of sticking them on top. Now, I'm not super technical here, so could you help me understand why this is a big deal and why no one else is really doing this prior?

Derrick Defever 21:52

Yeah. So I would say one of our many taglines is going to be smart, intelligent, and seamless surfaces. Taking existent surfaces, for example, like in the world of automotive, you have your door panel on the side where you may have lock, unlock, window controls, some seat controls, you know, where there's the newer the car, the more controls there are going to be on your door panel there, right? So when you look at that, now every one of those controls has some seams to have a button in there. And the door panel itself, if you go back 50, 60 years, that door panel is probably only an inch and a half, two inches thick, because all you needed to fit in there was a crank for the window, and that was it. Now, as we add more and more technology, that door panel is getting to be three inches thick, three and a half, four inches thick, or sorry, we're in Finland. So what's that gonna be? Like 50 millimeters to now a hundred millimeters in thickness. So that that space is growing, which doesn't sm sound like a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, but when you you double that because that's on both sides of the car, every every millimeter is a mile in space inside the vehicle. You know, in the US, that is the number one concern for US buyers is when they get into vehicle, is do I fit? And so if their arm has an extra, you know, 20 millimeters, 30 millimeters of space now, that makes the customer more comfortable in the car and that generates more sales. So with Tacto Tech, when we can take all of those different buttons and sensors and everything that's continued to be added to that door panel, we can incorporate that all onto our surfaces now. And that's done by basically printing those electronics onto a film rather than onto a typical circuit board. Because when you print onto a circuit, when you're using a circuit board, you need to protect that circuit board. So you have to put it in a housing, and then you have to place the buttons on there, and then you have to put a cover over those buttons, and your stack up that's what starts to build that overall space that's eating up your space for your arm. And so that's where when we're printing everything onto our film, we can then mold the plastic directly over that film. So we're basically combining all of those different stack-ups that's done in conventional technology, and we're making it into a single part. So then you're left with just one piece of plastic that has your light, has all of your touch buttons on there, all of your controls, and we're simplifying the design. And then from the seamless, you know, when you used to have all of the edges for the buttons, now it's one smooth surface on there as well. So when you, you know, we're focusing just on automotive here. If you look at like the medical world where or in planes is uh, you know, another area that we're working a lot with, you know, some different partners that are doing interiors of planes, they got to wipe that plane down every single time, you know, there's a new flight. And when you have buttons and you have seams, we all have a remote that sits on the table. And when the dust builds up on there and you're trying to clean in between each of those individual buttons, it's it's a pain. But if it's a nice smooth surface, you give it one clean wipe and everything's good to go. So that's where we can bring that seamless side of things in there as well.

Kasey Snyder 24:59

Wow. I'm actually really surprised to hear that there is such a practical application for this technology. And it sounds like your team has really done the work to understand what the need is on the industry side, because certainly uh the automotive industry would have this need to improve the use of these tools and the sleekness of the design, but also the comfort of their customer. That's huge. And then likewise, I've traveled on planes many times, and we always have that kind of thick feeling of wanting to make sure that we're we're entering into a clean space that we're gonna be sitting in for a long time. And to think that technology like you offer can actually make it easier to maintain and clean the surfaces while the customer is having a really nice experience of using the tech while while they're on board. I'm really impressed. That's that's great to hear. Now, you mentioned that automotive is kind of the core business at the moment. And then you talked a little bit about automotive here. Are there any other industries that you have started to see an interest from that maybe surprised you or that you're kind of looking out for the future?

Derrick Defever 26:00

Yeah, I'll say we've got some projects going on in the US as we speak, where we'll be launching in the next year here some, you know, keyless entry features of sorts. So I would say great application area is anywhere in the consumer appliance and you know, home good area where we can add some sleekness to the design, you know. The modern look is, you know, making things thinner, making them blend in, be styled into your surfaces. So if you take just like your your thermostat or something that would go on the wall of your home, you know, if we can save even a few millimeters of space of something that's just protruding off your wall, you know, even if it's just a light switch or some basic control, there's that element where you get the benefit of the styling, but also our technology, the surfaces that we're using, it's not just molded plastic anymore. We can screen print different designs on there. So you can have it match, you know, if you're putting something on the kitchen and you want it to match the marble or the wood veneer or the different materials you have in there, we can mimic those materials or use those actual physical materials. We have lots of partners around the world that specialize in what those surface finishes can be. So that's another where then going with the trends and matching what people are looking for. Um, and then the consumer appliances, you know, anywhere that you have light and control. So you look around your kitchen, it's filled with that, right? Your refrigerator has all these control buttons and lights now, your microwave, your stove top, your washer and dryer. All of these are different areas where we can add those benefits going to seamless, having the light, having the touch, and adding those additional styling benefits where you can get different looks out of the same features in there as well.

Kasey Snyder 27:49

Okay, exciting. Well, that's something really cool to look forward to in the future. Now let's talk a little bit about your business model. Um, as you mentioned earlier, you're in have a licensing opportunities. And I did read recently that you have a new licensing agreement with a major global automotive supplier. So help me understand, are you looking to license with other technology partners? Are you looking for manufacturers? What would be the sweet spot for you?

Derrick Defever 28:15

Yeah, so we are a technology company. And so we develop the technology behind the IMSE, the in-molded structure electronics. And then we license that out to our partners and we develop this ecosystem. So yes, Valio was one of the big announcements recently that they've joined as a licensee of our technology. And so they've been trained from top to bottom on how to design and develop and manufacture IMSE technology. So basically, they're grown-ups now and they're off and running and going off to the business world on their own with their IMSE knowledge. And then we continue to develop all of our know-how and continue to update them on our new inventions, new capabilities, you know, new certified technology that we can incorporate into the IMSE. And so that's just one example, and that's at the tier one level. So we're also working every day to educate the OEMs and work together with those tier one partners like Valio so that we are educating the OEMs and getting these designs into their vehicles, right? Because this really changes the way that you can design and style a vehicle. So, you know, when they're designing the vehicles with conventional technology in mind, they're not going to take into account, oh, I can have this be a smooth surface now. So that's where we need to do the education at the OEM level. But then also below the tier one level, we need to have an ecosystem in place to support those tier ones. And so from there we have partners that do the film manufacturing, screen printing, uh, placing the ST of the electronics onto the films. And even again, we have engineering partners as well. So I'd mentioned earlier we have some film partners that can do different surface material finishes. We have partners like Kirocera that we're developing some haptics with so that when you are touching this surface, it feels like you're touching a real button, right? You get that click sensation like when you click your MacBook ad, right? So we have these different engineering partners that are helping to develop their technology. So that from my side, being in the sales and business development, it's great because, you know, in conventional sales roles, you're you're out and you're competing against all of your competitors. And it's it's you against all of them trying to get that sale as quick as possible and have a better option than them. You know, in this role here, when we have these here ones that are our partners, we have our ecosystem of engineering partners. We're all kind of working together to educate the OEMs and go out and get these sales. So it almost feels like you have this big conglomerate team going out and getting the sales together. So that's that's the real unique part to this licensing model and this ecosystem that TactoTech has.

Kasey Snyder 30:57

Wow, that's great. It's so wonderful to hear that a company that is headquartered in a location that seems fairly remote and very far to the north can still be so well integrated and have such a robust, not only supply chain, but like you said, ecosystem partners globally. And it sounds like that would only lead to good benefit for the consumer because ultimately then the products that they are able to purchase uh have all of this great technology and this robustness behind them. So they're getting a good deal in return. My last question for you today. Unfortunately, not everyone can travel out to Uvascula to be part of the optics and photonics days, but we're certainly grateful to have TacoTet here with us. Is there anything that you'd like to share with any of the uh potential partners uh globally or specifically in the United States, anything new that you're working on or presenting uh here at OPD that you would want uh other partners to know about as well?

Derrick Defever 31:52

I would say from the new side, you know, we always are trying to match the trends. And as far as the different applications of where our product can be applied, we're learning every day of, yeah, that would be a great application because it is, as we mentioned earlier, it's taking surfaces and making them smart and seamless. And so the technology can really be applied anywhere. Any anything that's a surface, we can apply the technology to it and make it a smart surface. So there's without a doubt, there are products out there that we may not have even thought of yet. You know, we're meeting all the time to try and brainstorm and target in different markets and make connections. And in the automotive world, we're well established within there, right? We have connections into every OEM, every tier, from the bottom to the top level, from customers that are outside of automotive. You know, those are sometimes we don't have those connections, you know. Cell phone world, I'm sure we've got some good connections in as well from Nokia. But so for anybody that's at OPD or anyone that's listening to this and they're in a market sector that they're like, ooh, I wonder, you know, this is something we've always been looking for, or this, I wonder what could be done here, even. You know, if you just have the slightest idea of, you know, can we add light to this? Can we add some sensors to this and make this surface smart? You know, reach out to myself, reach out to our Taco Tech webpage. Um, we would be happy to take a look at it. We have a great team here that can evaluate that. And even every day, I've only been here for a year, the company's been around 15 years. And I'll have I'll be like, hey, have you guys ever thought about this? And then we'll go downstairs and they'll be like, look, we've we've made some prototypes of that in the past. So so yeah, that'd be my main thing. If if there's something in your mind of how can we apply this technology to our products, to our market, reach out to us. We've probably looked into it before and we can work together on finding a solution. And if we haven't, even better. We would love to take a look at it, show you what can be done with it.

Kasey Snyder 33:46

That's great to hear. And I think that resonates with a lot of the Finnish companies and ecosystem partners we talked to here that we know the RD is at the core of all of this incredible technology being produced here in Finland. And clearly that rings true at TactoTek. And uh, I just want to thank you so much for sitting down with me today. I appreciate your time and look forward to speaking with you again in the future.

Derrick Defever 34:07

Thank you very much, Kasey.

Kasey Snyder 34:08

Hi Pierre. Thank you so much for sitting down with me. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling us a bit about Silentsys ?

Pierre Brochard 34:25

Well, thank you very much. So I am Pierre Brochard, so the co-founder and the president of the company Silentsys. So Silentsys is a French company. We are developing ultra-low noise systems. So mainly we're providing uh high current laser sources for different applications like quantum sensing, LIDAR, and so on.

Kasey Snyder 34:41

Okay. So I understand that the concept is built around this kind of interesting idea that even the smallest amount of noise in a laser signal can completely ruin sensitive measurements or an experiment. Can you help us understand a little bit about why this is such a complex problem and why it's difficult to solve for?

Pierre Brochard 35:01

Exactly. So uh actually the people do not really imagine that the laser, the phase noise, or let's say laser line width is an issue for the applications. For example, if you want to measure over a very long fiber the constraints, so which is the acoustic sensing, for example, you will you will be limited by the laser in terms of uh measurement length and also measurement resolution. So it means that if you improve the laser phase noise, or let's say if you stabilize the laser to have very low line width or very high current length, then you will be able to measure much, much longer in terms of uh yes, length and also much uh with much more resolution. So yes, to be able with better laser to measure more accurately and also more uh length.

Kasey Snyder 35:39

Okay. And understanding that this is such a critical component of the laser signal, how is this applied commercially? What sort of applications or uh customers would we be familiar with?

Pierre Brochard 35:51

Yeah. Uh I mean typically if you focus to uh quantum uh computing uh companies, so people need very narrow linux lasers for quantum computing because they need to cool down some atom or so to integrate atoms. And if you don't have the correct laser, then it will just not work. So our goal is to just take commercial lasers and then to actively stabilize them to our references to improve a lot the laser currents and then to be able to, yeah, to make that the customers can do the application.

Kasey Snyder 36:18

Okay. I love that you mentioned the quantum technology, because as we know, here in Finland, in the Helsinki region, we have the number two quantum cluster in the world, which we're quite proud of. So I want to understand what are your ambitions for collaborating with the companies here in Finland and with our quantum ecosystem.

Pierre Brochard 36:40

For example, uh, what we can say is that we're working with Vexloom, so which is a uh company here. So they are developing uh Vexels, uh very nice lasers in the visible, also for quantum applications. And then, yes, by uh using their lasers in our system, we're able to reach very narrow line lasers that can then be able to useful for quantum applications. And not only computing, but also for quantum sensing or quantum uh communications, uh for example a continuous wave uh QKD.

Kasey Snyder 37:07

Okay. And we really appreciate that you've traveled all the way here to mid-Finland for this conference. So can you tell me a little bit about your experience at the optics and photonics days, maybe who you're looking to speak with while you're here, and if there's any particular sorts of collaborations you're looking for?

Pierre Brochard 37:24

Actually, we just uh discovered this uh this region now. So we are now a member of Photonic Finland. We just discovered this region. So we are here for the first time uh in Finland uh to discover the people, the activities, what people need, and what we can provide to these people just for us to discover uh this year with this event uh OPD.

Kasey Snyder 37:42

And had you been to Finland previously?

Pierre Brochard 37:44

No, never.

Kasey Snyder 37:45

Okay. Is there anything about your experience here so far that stands out to you? Anything about the culture or the people you've been speaking with?

Pierre Brochard 37:53

Uh I mean it's hard to stand out because uh I just arrived yesterday, or at least two weeks ago. Uh mainly it's about temperature. So I just leave uh France, it was like 36 degrees, very hot actually for an A. And here it was like 12 degrees, so this was a very huge difference. And then also yes, the I mean the the sun. So I I've just seen that yes, the sun start at uh four and a half uh the on the morning and then just uh live at uh 20 uh 10 to 30. So it's a bit bigger than what we have in France.

Kasey Snyder 38:20

Absolutely, I understand. Well, thank you again for traveling all the way here. It was wonderful talking with you, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference.

Pierre Brochard 38:27

Thank you very much.

Kasey Snyder 38:37

Okay, Oliver, wonderful of you to stop by and speak with us. Would you mind introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about Assemblify?

Oliver Grass, 38:45

Yes, thank you for having me here. I'm Oliver Grass, I'm the manager of Assemblify, which is a company, small medium company in Nuremberg, Germany. Assemblify is founded almost more than 40 years ago from three founders. I came in in the 2000s after my studies, and today I took over the whole company for myself, and we are the founders of Inospec, which is the reason why we are in Photonics. Photonics, we started in 2005 with hyperspectral cameras. We were developing them and selling them. We sold our company two years ago to Hadwall in US. And since then, we work on assemblifier with photonics devices and machine vision products.

Kasey Snyder 39:33

Okay, that's so interesting. What a big transition from your complex electronics and mechanical devices into this photonics world that is obviously very familiar to you. So I'm curious to kind of understand how do you work with the scale-up companies or the startups that are just trying to get their product out of the research lab and into commercial application?

Oliver Grass, 39:57

So Assemblify is specialized in producing and co-developing high-comple products and producing them in small quantities. So this is also one of our business fields that we quite work a lot with startups and new companies which develop a new product. And from the experience to produce optical and machine vision products like cameras and optical systems, we have a lot of knowledge how you produce these systems. From this field, it came that we have a quite a big network and quite a few customer-based already where we produce their products, that we aim to help startups also, as we are were startups in the past as well, and know the problems in industrialization, how to make the products producible. And so we try to give the confidence that we do not change the idea of the startups. The startups are mostly concentrating on their product itself, on their technology, on what they want to achieve with this and what market they want to serve. And this is their professionalism. This they can do perfectly, and this is not what we want to change. So we are not a consultant to tell them how the world works. We are the partners aside them, not to change their idea, but to help them to make a product developed that you can produce it for a value or a price which fits to the industries they want to sell. I usually explain it like this. So if you produce housing for a device and you take a certain kind of a radius for a cover, and you just do something what you like to do, and you do it two millimeters smaller or wider, then you have an industrial use measurement, and the production costs get cut by 10. And this is something what doesn't change your product, but it makes it producible because you have more suppliers, you have more possibilities, and this works through a whole product. And we have many startups already helped into their production and the scaling of their production to the market without that they have to take care of it. So they get a partner for getting the product done. And this is also in convincing investors because they know if we partner up with a company like Assemplify, we can secure the go-to-market much better and much more professional than it would be if the startup with no experience in producing can do by themselves. So the investment is high higher secured than without us.

Kasey Snyder 42:28

Okay, well, that's a very clear value proposition for any of our startup companies. That makes total sense. But we have talked quite a bit um during this conference about the challenges that the startups face when they're trying to get from the research lab to scale. And it sounds like you play a very interesting role, maybe not going to the the largest extent of scale, but helping them to reach maybe that next level. Are there any particular challenges that you have found that the photonics or optics companies face in that regard? Are there any particular challenges that the photonics and optics companies face when they're trying to scale out of the lab? So that first lead.

Oliver Grass, 43:10

One one challenge I see is that mostly low-cost product or a product which doesn't cost like a prototype based in the photonics that you need quite a bit of volume already in production. But you don't have the customer for that in the beginning. So you have to pre-finance a batch of production without having customers, especially in optic ponens or smaller optic parts or lasers. And this makes it difficult to scale up and to hit already a market pricing what will allow more customers than the one or two customer you focused on to develop the product.

Kasey Snyder 43:51

Yeah, that makes sense. And I think that did come up yesterday during the panel discussion as well. I'm wondering a little bit about your process of working with these startup companies. I'm sure that they're very protective of their IP, of their research, and the innovations they've been working on. So, how do you develop a relationship with those startups and earn their trust?

Oliver Grass, 44:10

There's a few ways or or a few points how you can do that. So, one of the points is that we worked already with many startups together and we have the experience to do this so we can show a track record of getting products in the market with what we did. So the second is that Assemblify is not producing own products. So we are a third-party production partner. So if we have the product knowledge when they open up their secrets, we will not market itself. So we are not a sales organization. I have a lot of contacts, and I can help these companies to find the international network for optical products, but we do not sell them. So we just enable them to get a broader market. And the third part is that most companies don't make any, or especially startups, don't make any thoughts about how you get a product from a prototype to a customer. And this starts already with sourcing the supply chain, uh, with how to produce what. There's a lot of pieces to be done which are part of the product, which is not key for the for the function, for for what they want to achieve with the product. Further, if you do logistics, customs, all these things, they make no thoughts about this, but they have to be done. Is it a dual-use product? How do you pack it? How do you ship it? And and so on. So this all we can cover in the beginning, that they just can concentrate on their technology. And a very important stuff is certification. Most of these companies, they know that they have to do something, but they have no experience. We have a few people which are specialized in how do you do a CE certification? Is it a machine that you need a machine certification? Is it a biomedical certification? So we can help them to uh develop already in the beginning to the cereal production to keep these certificates to get the permission to sell these products. And they differ quite a bit in many, many countries. And so to focus already on that and then even to be able to produce is one key, what they need to do. And they see that we can help them without changing their idea and their market and their knowledge or their professionalism in what they are doing.

Kasey Snyder 46:33

Right. Absolutely. That makes sense. Well, we are certainly glad that you traveled all the way from Germany up here to Uvascula, Finland, to join us for these optics and photonics days. Um, would you say that there is any particular type of a partner or collaborator you're looking for here at the event, or have you come across anybody that really caught your attention?

Oliver Grass, 46:54

Like I mentioned in the beginning, that I'm more than 20 years already in the photonic industries. Of course, I know a few people here. And what I know since the beginning is that Finland has a very, very strong photonic background and industries, and that the government is supporting quite a lot of these companies. And this is very interesting for our own internationalization to get more contact to Finnish companies because I know that there's going on a lot of development and future products, and we want to be part of this network. And Finland is a place where you can have business, where you can be, which is nice, and which I want to make business also in the future.

Kasey Snyder 47:33

That's wonderful and really great to hear. Lovely chatting with you. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference.

Oliver Grass, 47:40

Thank you for your time, and I'm happy to talk again with you whenever you want.

Kasey Snyder 47:44

Thank you.