Next-generation laser technology: Midel Photonics secures EUR 1 million in seed funding

December 19, 2023

• Targeted shaping of laser beams is an increasingly important topic in manufacturing. Many processing steps rely on lasers and are reaching their limits.
• Bonn-based startup Midel Photonics solves this problem with an innovative laser beam shaping solution.
• Midel Photonics successfully closes EUR 1 million seed financing round led by HTGF.
• The financing round is strengthened by angel investments from several industry experts, including Thomas Merk and Dr. Markus Dilger.
• With the new capital, the founders will further position their innovative beam shaping technology in the market and expand their application portfolio.

19 December 2023, Bonn, Germany – Bonn-based laser start-up Midel Photonics is ending the year with a bang: Its seed financing round has been closed, with investors including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and renowned industry experts Thomas Merk and Dr. Markus Dilger.

We are thrilled to have such strong and technology-savvy partners supporting our vision and work.

Dr. David Dung, co-founder and CEO of Midel Photonics

Founded in 2022, high-tech start-up Midel Photonics is revolutionizing laser materials processing. In key areas such as cutting microchips, welding engines and batteries for electromobility and display manufacturing, current laser technologies are reaching their limits, leading to inefficient production processes and wasted resources. Midel Photonics’ innovation is a novel technology that shapes laser beams to significantly enhance the efficiency of existing processes while paving the way for new manufacturing processes. The company is working towards a more sustainable and intelligent manufacturing future.
This seed financing marks another milestone for the young company.

With this investment we can now realize our growth plans and establish our breakthrough technology even more broadly in the market. Midel Photonics is ready to actively shape the future of the laser industry.

Frederik Wolf, co-founder and CEO of Midel Photonics

Midel Photonics has developed a ground-breaking beam shaping solution that can propel laser applications to the next level. I am excited to support the team in the market adoption phase and take the next steps together!

Dr. Nils Lang, Investment Manager at HTGF

I am looking forward to the future cooperation with the team of Midel Photonics. Most important and deciding topic of laser processes is the application result. The technology of Midel Photonics enlarges the process window significantly and provides a more sustainable quality of laser applications. Midel Photonics is able to provide these stabilizing optics specific for their customers applications on short delivery.

Thomas Merk, former president and CEO of Rofin Sinar, Executive Vice President Coherent

Laser technology is a key technology for many future applications. Midel Photonics will help to shape these emerging applications with its technology. There are many exciting applications for the products, particularly in micro- and nanoelectronics. I am confident that Midel Photonics’ founding team and proprietary technology will be key to the success of the company.

Dr. Markus Dilger, former managing director of Carl Zeiss NTS, Senior VP Corporate Research Infineon

About Midel Photonics GmbH 
Midel Photonics GmbH was founded in May 2022 and emerged from research in the “ML4Q” Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn. With its innovative laser beam shaping technology, the company solves highly topical problems in laser material processing and enables highly efficient laser systems. The founders were supported by EXIST research transfer funding from the BMWK, NRW.BANK, the High-Tech.NRW network, the enaCom transfer center at the University of Bonn and the RWTH Aachen incubation program. The founding team consists of David Dung, Frederik Wolf, Christian Wahl, Christopher Grossert.
www.midel-photonics.de 

Kontakt 
Dr. David Dung, Co-Founder and Managing Director 
T.: +49 228 – 28679711 
david.dung@midel-photonics.de  

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected about 5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies. 
Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH  
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager   
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de