Aeluma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALMU) has signed a strategic agreement with Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technologies (SCAT) to accelerate the development and production of photonics wafers for the fast-growing AI datacom market. Notably, the two companies will first tap SCAT’s existing metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) capacity at its Phoenix, Arizona facility, and the deal deliberately leaves room to expand that capacity over time.

Key Points

• Aeluma (NASDAQ: ALMU) has executed an agreement with SCAT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical, to speed up photonics wafer development and production for AI datacom.
• The partnership initially draws on SCAT’s MOCVD lines in Phoenix, Arizona, while building in a clear path to greater capacity later.
• Rather than rely on scarce, expensive indium phosphide (InP), Aeluma’s platform uses more widely available substrates -- 150mm gallium arsenide (GaAs) and 200-to-300mm silicon (Si).
• Because it works with established, high-volume GaAs and Si foundries, Aeluma avoids the cost and long qualification timelines of new fab buildouts.
• Both companies point to surging demand for photodetectors and lasers as the driver, with SCAT calling Aeluma’s approach a promising fix for InP supply constraints.

Why the InP Bottleneck Matters

Demand for high-performance photonics components -- particularly photodetectors and lasers -- keeps climbing, yet the industry’s traditional workhorse material, indium phosphide, remains both scarce and costly. Moreover, manufacturers typically process InP on 100mm substrates or smaller, and although some producers are now standing up 150mm InP lines, those new fabs still demand significant time and capital to qualify. Layer geopolitical risk on top of tight supply, and the case for an alternative becomes hard to ignore.

Aeluma addresses that bottleneck directly. Instead of chasing scarce InP, the company built a large-diameter, non-InP photonics platform that pairs best-in-class materials with mass-market microelectronics manufacturing. Specifically, its heterogeneous integration approach relies on 150mm GaAs and 200-to-300mm silicon substrates, both of which the market supplies far more readily. As a result, Aeluma can scale without waiting on new fab construction.

How the SCAT Agreement Fits

SCAT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical, manufactures epitaxial wafers in Phoenix for the optical communications, smartphone, wireless, and automotive markets. Consequently, it brings proven, large-volume production expertise to the table. Under the new agreement, Aeluma will combine SCAT’s MOCVD capacity with its own in-house MOCVD capabilities, which already produce wafers across 150, 200, and 300mm substrate sizes. Furthermore, Aeluma continues to work with established GaAs and Si foundries for component fabrication, so it sidesteps dependence on unproven fab buildouts and the qualification delays that come with them.

Leadership Perspective

Founder and CEO Jonathan Klamkin, Ph.D., framed SCAT as a natural complement to Aeluma’s in-house manufacturing, noting the companies have collaborated for several years and describing the deal as a way to “set the stage for accelerated development, qualification, production, and future potential expansion.”

SCAT President and Executive Officer Dr. Ken Campman echoed that optimism, observing that demand for epitaxial wafers used in photodetectors and lasers has grown sharply even as InP supply constrains the field. He added that Aeluma’s technology offers “a promising solution for the datacom market and may impact other markets as well.”

About Aeluma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALMU)

Aeluma develops high-performance, scalable semiconductor technologies for AI, mobile and consumer, defense and aerospace, and quantum applications. Headquartered in Goleta, California, the company manufactures compound-semiconductor materials and chips on large-diameter substrates, thereby bringing specialized optoelectronic and electronic devices -- including lasers, transistors, photodetectors, and solar cells -- into mass-market microelectronics production.

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