Lumenisity

Lumenisity Limited, now a part of Microsoft, originated as a spin-out from the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) in 2017. The company was established to commercialize more than a decade of research into hollowcore optical fibre (HCF). The founding team consists of academics Professor David Richardson, Professor Francesco Poletti, and Professor Marco Petrovich, who developed the technology at the ORC, alongside seasoned executive Dr. David Parker, who served as Chairman and CEO. Dr. Parker, a physicist and engineer with a Ph.D. from Imperial College, brought extensive experience in leading international photonics businesses and scaling early-stage technology companies.

Lumenisity specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced HCF solutions. The company's core product is a cable where light signals propagate through an air-filled central core instead of a traditional solid glass core. This architecture allows data to travel approximately 47-50% faster, significantly reducing latency. The primary business involves providing these high-performance cables to clients with stringent latency and security needs. The target market includes sectors such as financial services, healthcare, government, retail, and manufacturing, along with network operators and cloud infrastructure providers. In December 2022, Microsoft acquired Lumenisity to optimize its global cloud infrastructure, particularly for Azure customers, and to accelerate innovation in networking.

The company's key technology is its proprietary Nested Anti-Resonant Nodeless Fibre (NANF), marketed under the CoreSmart® brand. This design offers several advantages over conventional solid fibres, including not only lower latency but also enhanced security, increased bandwidth, and higher power handling capabilities. A later evolution, known as DNANF, achieved record-low signal loss (attenuation), surpassing even standard single-mode fibres in certain optical bands. Before its acquisition, Lumenisity had secured significant funding, including a £7.5 million round in 2020, to build the world's first dedicated HCF manufacturing facility in Romsey, UK, enabling the company to scale production.

Keywords: hollowcore optical fibre, low latency, data transmission, Nested Anti-Resonant Nodeless Fibre, NANF, Optoelectronics Research Centre, Microsoft acquisition, network infrastructure, cloud computing, financial services, data centers, high-speed networking, CoreSmart, fibre optic cable, telecommunications, University of Southampton spin-out, David Richardson, Francesco Poletti, David Parker, high-capacity communications