VICKRAM VATHULYA EPIC EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
Do you see AI as a bubble or do you think it’s here to stay?
motivated me to make sure I’m doing all the right things for our stakeholders and to make the company successful. On the business side, because Sivers as a relatively small company, there was a desire to market the technology to anybody who would test it or buy it. While this was good early on because it helped to mature the technology, later it becomes a distraction. As a small company you can’t be doing too many
kids are doing. In the same way, don’t be happy just doing what you’re asked to do: be curious about what makes the business tick, walk into the next office and find out what else is going on around you and grow your skills set.
IN
A major difference between AI and the 2000 internet bubble, is that with AI, the Googles and
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Microsofts of this world are putting in tremendous amounts of real cash. But in my opinion, many AI business models that will become viable are more likely to be on the productivity enhancement side, i.e., how to make design cycles shorter, how to make industries more efficient, and using data to improve productivity.
things and bringing focus into the company has been a challenge. A second challenge is having to
compete with big established companies in both our businesses along with other innovative start-ups. The challenge is how to convince customers, particularly blue-chip customers, that even though we are a smaller company, we have better technology that we can deliver, and we are much nimbler and more flexible in what we can develop for them. For this reason, to prove our viability to bigger customers we have first had to work with smaller customers regarded as lead adopters.
What’s your advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs?
IN
An analogy I always used when advising and mentoring young early career talent is how kids play
VV
in sandboxes. Some stay in the middle, but the more curious kids go to edges of the sandbox and look at what the other
Vickram Vathulya, CEO Sivers Semiconductors.
Driving Competitiveness of European Photonics Industry through an International Network
Which are your main growth markets?
IN
Our top growth markets are AI data centres for our lasers, and satellite communications and 5G/
VV
defence for the wireless business. Because of what’s happening in Ukraine and the tension around Taiwan, a lot of militaries around the world want to make sure they’re ready for the future with high frequency millimetre wave solutions. And because we have such a rich heritage in 5G, we also have an outpost on 5G - just to see if any use case comes up.
UPCOMING EVENTS
EPIC Events at Laser World of Photonics 2025:
Integrated Photonics Applications Stage at the Laser World of Photonics
24 June 2025. Munich, Germany EPIC Meeting on Defense – Critical Technologies for Europe’s Security at the Laser World of Photonics Integrated Photonics Applications Stage at the Laser World of Photonics 25 June 2025. Munich, Germany EPIC TechSession at World of Quantum – Insights Forum EPIC Technology Meeting on Innovative Optics: from Materials to Components at the Laser World of Photon- ics Integrated Photonics Applications Stage at the Laser World of Photonics EPIC Sustainability Workgroup Meeting at the Laser World of Photonics EPIC Workgroup on HR Meeting at the Laser World of Photonics EPIC Coffee Break on Tariffs impact for photonics indus- try at the Laser World of Photonics 26 June 2025. Munich, Germany EPIC CEO Exhibitor Breakfast at the Laser World of Photonics
EPIC Marketing Coffee Break at the Laser World of Photonics
27 June 2025. Munich, Germany Integrated Photonics Applications Stage at the Laser World of Photonics
How do you see the future?
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Booth Tour for Young Talent at World of Quantum
In the last six months, many of my lead customers, are changing their conversation from
Save the date for other activities: EPIC Online Technology Meeting on Photonics for Smart Farming 7 July 2025. Online Event EPIC Online Meeting discussing “What is the impact of US tariffs on the European photonics industry?” 15 July 2025. Online Event
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technology development and product application fit to making sure there are qualified products with manufacturing readiness available for them in the next 18 to 24 months. This tells me that pressure is mounting for the entire industry to show how optical will arrive in time for inter-rack interconnects. In our case, on the wireless side, we are already fabless, as we rely on a merchant foundry for building our product in volume. Historically, we have built our lasers in the Glasgow factory, but for the types of expected ramps and volumes in AI, we are now engaging with a merchant foundry in Asia so we can be fully fabless. In this way, we will have assured manufacturing capacity and ramp capability for a range of standard configurations and we will be able to move away from custom solutions.
EPIC Online Technology Meeting on Quantum Sensors 8 September 2025. Online Event
EPIC Members Delegation to Taiwan 9-10 September 2025. Taipei, Taiwan
EPIC Technology Meeting on Industrial Laser Processes at Optoprim 10–11 September 2025. Milan, Italy EPIC Online Technology Meeting on Photonics for Mid-IR Developments for Spectroscopy, Sensing and Monitoring 15 September 2025. Online Event
EPIC Members Delegation to India 16-18 September 2025. Bengaluru, India
EPIC Technology Workshop on Laser Micromachining Applications at the Laser World of Photonics
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ISSUE 41 | Q2 2025
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