Quintessent
Hardware · Lasers & Laser Systems
$58.3Mtotal raised · 9 rounds on record
$40Mlatest round · Series A · Aug 2026 · 2 mo ago
1backers · Sierra Ventures
$3.2Mgrants · 4 grants · CORDIS
Overview
Quintessent develops scalable, energy-efficient optical interconnect technology for AI data centers, powered by advanced quantum dot laser technology.
Key facts
These are the key facts about Quintessent on Alion as of Nov 13, 2026. Quintessent is headquartered in Santa Barbara, United States. It was founded in 2019. It has raised $58.3M in 5 funding rounds. The latest round is Series A of $40M, announced in 2026.
- Headquarters
- Santa Barbara, United StatesAlion company profile, updated Oct 7, 2026
- Founded
- 2019Alion company profile, updated Oct 7, 2026
- Employees
- 50+Alion company profile, an estimated range
- Total raised
- $58.3MSum of 5 equity rounds Alion knows
- Latest round
- Series A · $40M · Aug 23, 2026Press report · sdxcentral.com
- Visa sponsorship, United States
- 1 ▼ 50% · H-1B filings in 12 monthsUS Department of Labor · latest filing Apr 21, 2026
Official records
Funding and backers
Total raised
$58.3M
9 rounds on record
Latest round
$40M
Series A · Aug 2026 · 2 mo ago
Team
19
US Form 5500 (plan participants) · Dec 2025 · +27% in a year
Grants
$3.2M
4 grants · CORDIS
Backers
1
Sierra Ventures
The money's age
Fresh money
2 months since the last round · not hiring
Momentum
35/100
in the news, fresh money
Last sign of life
1 mo ago
a posting or a news item
The story so fareach stage dated by its source: the company's releases, the press, registers, filings
Nov 10
Board appointment Gerd Goette, Director · SEC Form D
Aug 23
Raised a round Series A $40M · DCDNoticias
Jan 14, 2025
New executive Quintessent Hires Industry Veteran Bob Nunn as Chief Operating Officer · businesswire.com
Oct 10, 2023
Raised a round Seed $11.6M · SEC Form D
Dec 1, 2021
Won a grant $1.8M · CORDIS
Sep 2, 2021
Partnership Tower Semiconductor and Quintessent Announce Partnership · quintessent.com
Aug 15, 2021
Won a grant $1000k · CORDIS
Feb 22, 2021
Won a grant $250k · CORDIS
Dec 1, 2020
Won a customer Quintessent selected by DARPA to develop high power integrated gain capability applicable to datacom · quintessent.com
May 1, 2020
Won a grant $225k · CORDIS
Sep 12, 2019
Raised a round Convertible Note $90k · SEC Form D
Jul 8, 2019
Raised a round Venture round $1.1M · SEC Form D
2019
Founded
Funding rounds
| Round | Date | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | Aug 2026 | $40M | — | DCDNoticias |
| Seed | Oct 2023 | $11.6M | — | SEC Form D |
| Venture round | Dec 2021 | $5.5M | — | SEC Form D |
| Grant | Dec 2021 | $1.8M | — | CORDIS |
| Grant | Aug 2021 | $1000k | — | CORDIS |
| Grant | Feb 2021 | $250k | — | CORDIS |
| Grant | May 2020 | $225k | — | CORDIS |
| Convertible Note | Sep 2019 | $90k | — | SEC Form D |
| Venture round | Jul 2019 | $1.1M | — | SEC Form D |
Registers and programsofficial lists and records that name the company
| Legal entity | Quintessent Inc. | SEC Form D |
Founders and leadersfrom filings, registers and the company's site
Alan LiuExecutive Officer, DirectorSEC Form D
Robert NunnExecutive Officer, DirectorSEC Form D
Backed byfrom the funds' portfolios and accelerator catalogs
Investors in similar startupsfunds that back the companies most like this one
Similar startupsby what they do, their industry and backers
Fast tunable ultrafast lasers for microscopy, spectroscopy, SRS imaging and quantum tech. Request a demo.
Leading the world in high-power lasers for mission-critical directed energy, sensing, and advanced manufacturing applications.
活力激光 is a Chinese manufacturer of semiconductor lasers, pump sources, and high-power diode lasers for industrial, medical, and research use.
Iris Lab develops counter-UAS laser systems, designed and built in Europe for mass-deployments.
Macsa ID offers industrial laser coding and marking, labeling, and inkjet solutions for better traceability and efficiency.
Discover inPhocal's laser technology for faster production, lower downtime, eco-friendly solutions, and unparalleled quality. Book a demo…
Visa sponsorship
1 ▼ 50%
H-1B filings in 12 months
$153k
Median offered salary
0
Open roles in United States
Who they sponsor
Materials engineers
1
In the register as Quintessent Inc., Goleta, CA (+1 more)
Other sponsors in the same field
Coherent 
Kioxia 
Novanta 
Lumentum
Alert me
US Department of Labor · latest filing Apr 21, 2026 · Visa details by country
Financials
Total raised
$61.5M
Latest round
Series A
Funding rounds
9
Funding rounds
People
Alan Liu
Executive Officer, Director
Robert Nunn
Executive Officer, Director
Alexander Fang
Director
John Bowers
Director
Manny Stockman
Director
Gerd Goette
Director
Names and roles come from public filings, company registers and the company's own site. Is this you? Correct or remove · How we handle this data
Connections
List
Graph
Found in company registers, site code, DNS and hiring. Each connection shows how sure we are and the evidence, with its source and date.
Shared investors
Sierra VenturesVia a fund
Click a company to open it. Dashed lines are likely connections. The second step of the network is part of the Pro plan.
Owner
Same company
Same group
Likely
Shared investors
News
Quintessent Expands Leadership Team to Support Growth of Optical Data Center Interconnect Technology
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., September 08, 2026--Quintessent, an innovator in resilient and low-cost AI datacenter optical interconnect products, today announced it has hired Ramesh Senthinathan, Ph.D., as vice president of system engineering, and Manar Mohamed
Read more
Report
Quintessent Expands Leadership Team to Support Growth of Optical Data Center Interconnect Technology
Read more
Report
Quintessent bags $40M to develop lasers for AI clusters
Quintessent bags $40M to develop lasers for AI clusters - SiliconANGLE
Read more
Report
Quintessent Raises $40 Million Series A and Begins Sampling First Product for AI Optical Interconnects
Quintessent, an innovator in resilient and low-cost AI datacenter optical interconnect products, today announced it has raised $40 million in an
Read more
Report
Quintessent Raises $40 Million Series A As Quantum Dot Laser Targets 40% Lower AI Data Movement Power
Quintessent has raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series A round while beginning customer sampling of its single-chip quantum dot-based DWDM comb laser for AI data center optical interconnects.
Read more
Report
Quintessent Raises $40 Million Series A and Begins Sampling First Product for AI Optical Interconnects
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., August 24, 2026--Quintessent, an innovator in resilient and low-cost AI datacenter optical interconnect products, today announced it has raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series A investment round. Quintessent also announced t
Read more
Report
Quintessent Raises $40 Million Series A and Begins Sampling First Product for AI Optical Interconnects
Read more
Report
Optics startup Quintessent secures $40M to revolutionize interconnects for AI
Ciena among backers of DWDM link player using gallium arsenide over supply-chain-constrained indium phosphide
Read more
Report
Show more news
Offices
Where the company hires and what each office is for
Cities
2
Hiring now
0
Countries
1
Loading the map
Headquarters
Builds here
Office with open vacancies
No open vacancies right now Tap a pin for the office
Santa Barbara
United States
HQ
Goleta
United States
Regional office
Thank you for your message. We will be in touch as soon as possible.
Suite 155, Goleta, CA 93117
How to cite this page
Alion, "Quintessent: key facts", as of Nov 13, 2026. https://alion.io/company/quintessent
These figures are published under a free licence. You may reuse them, including commercially, as long as you credit Alion and link back to this page. CC BY-SA 4.0