- Zhangjiang is building a silicon-photonics ecosystem spanning design, manufacturing, testing and packaging
- A new proof-of-concept platform is helping startups test whether technologies can survive real-world demands
Shanghai’s Zhangjiang high-tech hub is building one of China’s most complete silicon-photonics ecosystems, covering everything from EDA software and optoelectronic materials to chip design, manufacturing, testing and packaging.
A group of local companies are now moving from “technical feasibility” to commercial-scale deployment, according to announcements at a silicon-photonics forum held during the 2026 Pujiang Innovation Forum on September 13.
Silicon photonics uses semiconductor manufacturing techniques to integrate optical components onto silicon. This allows optical modules to be produced more like chips rather than assembled component by component, reducing cost, power consumption and size.
The so-called “Silicon Photonics Core Source” (硅光芯源), a silicon-photonics cluster in Zhangjiang, hosts nearly 20 companies. More than 30 such firms are now based across the wider Zhangjiang area, one of the highest concentrations in China.
Testing before scaling
The government-backed Shanghai Engine Fund (上海未来产业基金) has invested 920 million yuan ($137 million) in silicon photonics and helped sub-funds raise a total of 8.2 billion yuan.
In June 2025, it joined eight market-oriented funds to establish a silicon-photonics investment network and began building a proof-of-concept platform.
The platform began operating in June and is designed not simply to share equipment but to help startups test and disprove technologies before they commit to costly commercialization.
It currently offers 8-inch and 12-inch silicon-photonics wafer fabrication, as well as prototype testing and application-scenario facilities. Eleven projects have been selected, with nearly 10 expected to complete validation work this year.
Riding the chip industry
Pudong’s push builds on Zhangjiang’s decades-old semiconductor base. Since 1996, the area has developed a complete integrated-circuit industry chain spanning chip design, manufacturing and packaging and testing.
Pudong now accounts for more than 70% of Shanghai’s integrated-circuit industry and nearly one-fifth of China’s, according to local statistics.
The area has built an established IC industry ecosystem spanning manufacturing capacity, suppliers, packaging expertise and talent.
Zhangjiang Hi-Tech, the state-run developer behind the tech hub, is also advancing the first and second phases of the Silicon Photonics Core Source cluster and a public optoelectronic-chip testing platform.
It plans to connect the ecosystem with nearby demand from AI computing, smart devices and commercial aerospace.
Expanding global market
The push comes as the global silicon-photonics industry shifts from technology validation to manufacturing, testing, deployment and scaling.
LightCounting, a silicon photonics-focused market researcher, expects silicon-photonics modulator-based optical modules to account for more than half of the overall optical-module market in 2026, with the market exceeding $40 billion.
Meanwhile, the optical-chip market is forecast to grow from $4 billion in 2025 to $15 billion by 2031, with silicon photonics chips accounting for 42% of the market.
For Pudong, the bet is that its semiconductor manufacturing base can give silicon photonics the missing link between promising laboratory technology and mass-market products.
Header image credit: Brecht Corbeel
