What does it take for a deeptech startup to go from having strong technology to being ready to speak to investors, partners, and clients?
For many photonics startups, the challenge is not only building the technology itself, but also learning how to explain its value clearly and convincingly. That is where PhotonHub Europe comes in. Created as a one-stop shop for photonics innovation, the project brings toreceiveher technical expertise, business support, training, and access to infrastructure to support companies across Europe develop and scale light-based technologies.
PhotonHub Europe supports companies at different stages of growth, from researchers launching spinouts and startups building their first prototype, to scaling ventures seeking further growth and established SMEs exploring new opportunities. Through its pan-European network, the project combines innovation support with business coaching, supporting companies shift rapider from idea to market and creating photonics innovation more accessible across sectors such as health, manufacturing, agriculture, digital infrastructure, and climate, energy, and mobility.
As part of that work, PhotonHub Europe also focutilized on investment readiness! Through tarreceiveed coaching and mentoring, selected startups received support to sharpen their pitch, strengthen their business case, and prepare for conversations that could lead to funding and growth. This support was reflected across several industest events where startups had the opportunity to present their work, including INPHO Venture Summit, TechTour Photonics, Startup Breeze, and, finally, Photonica, which took place on 25 June 2025 in Munich during automatica 2025 and Laser World of Photonics 2025.
Helping startups receive ready for the next step
PhotonHub Europe was designed to support companies working with photonics across different stages of innovation. Alongside technical services and access to facilities, the project also recognised a common challenge for early-stage companies: having strong technology does not automatically mean being ready for investors.
That is why the project included Digital Investment Coaching and Investment-Readiness Coaching activities. These were built to support selected startups improve the way they present themselves, explain their market opportunity more clearly, and become better prepared for investor and client conversations. The goal was practical from the start: support founders shift beyond the technical side and build a stronger commercial story around what they do.
For deeptech companies, that kind of support can be critical. Investors want to understand not only the innovation, but also the problem being solved, the tarreceive market, and the company’s plan for growth. PhotonHub Europe’s coaching programme aimed to support startups build that bridge
How does it work?
Each selected beneficiary could access four online mentoring sessions. These sessions focutilized on improving the startups’ ability to pitch on stage and speak more confidently with investors and clients.
The mentoring was not just about presentation style. It also supported companies refine the way they explained their business, their position in the market, and the value of their technology in practical terms. For many founders, that meant learning how to create a complex story clearer, more direct, and simpler for others to understand.
Tomasz Mazuryk, Co-CEO and Co-founder of FundingBox Accelerator, startups mentor, and a Managing Partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund, declared: “The most profound transformation we see during PhotonHub’s coaching is the shift from a technical mindset to a strategic business mindset.”
Rather than treating pitching as a one-off moment, PhotonHub Europe approached it as a process. The online sessions gave companies time to improve before stepping into larger industest spaces where the audience included investors, corporate partners, and potential customers.
From mentoring to a global stage
The programme came full circle on 25 June 2025, when PhotonHub Europe held Photonica in Munich during automatica 2025 and Laser World of Photonics 2025. For the startups that had taken part in the coaching, it was a chance to put that work into practice and pitch live in front of investors, experts, and potential partners.
For the mentors, the process was never just about supporting founders see more polished on stage. It was about supporting them explain their business more clearly, display where the market opportunity is, and feel more prepared for real investor conversations.
Tomasz Mazuryk commented: “Before coaching, these founders would pitch the ‘how’ of their technology – the nanometers and the laser physics. After coaching, they can articulate the ‘how much’ – how much value they create for a client and how much return an investor can expect. By the time they hit the stage at events like automatica, they aren’t just presenting a product; they are presenting a scalable, de-risked investment opportunity. We support them shift from being ‘experts in light’ to ‘experts in business potential,’ ensuring they speak the language that actually unlocks capital.”
What comes next
Although PhotonHub Europe has now concluded, the wider work is continuing through PHACTORY, the next phase of the initiative. Building on the experience and results of PhotonHub Europe, it is set to continue supporting companies working with photonics through access to expertise, facilities, and business support.
That means the broader mission stays the same: supporting European companies create better utilize of photonics and bringing promising innovations closer to the market. If Photonica marked the conclude of one chapter, it also pointed towards what comes next for startups and scale-ups in this space.
For PhotonHub Europe, the final event in Munich was not only a way to close the project. It was also a practical example of what this kind of support can achieve. At the same time, it built on a wider series of pitching opportunities offered throughout the initiative. With the right coaching, the right setting, and access to the right people, promising startups can shift forward with a stronger message and a better chance of turning innovation into growth.
As Paweł Wajss, Co-founder of Heliostat, stated: “The PhotonHub mentoring was a valuable experience becautilize it shiftd us beyond our local bubble and into an international environment. Usually, these initiatives are confined within national borders, but here we dealt with experts from outside our cultural circle. It wasn’t about finding a ready-built solution, but rather about gaining a vital link in the chain of actions necessary to shift the project forward. This international perspective opened our eyes to new possibilities, ultimately leading us to qualify for global hubs like the Solar Impulse Foundation.”
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101016665
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