OneChip Photonics , a company that that develops and manufactures optical transceivers for broadband applications, just raised $16.5 million in a second round of funding from DCM, BDC Venture Capital , GrowthWorks Canadian Fund and Morgenthaler Ventures. The company says that the money will enable it to expand operations globally and deliver fully integrated fiber-to-the-home transceiver technology to clients in the second half of 2009.
The product allows for small business and consumer broadband applications via direct deployment of fiber. OneChip Photonics claims that its technology will be in demand when triple-play services (voice, data and video) are used by a bigger audience.
OneChip Photonics previously raised $3 million. The deal is interesting for its rarity. Few optical networking or broadband infrastructure companies are getting funding these days, partly because the sector has fallen out of favor and partly because so many giant companies dominate it.