About InPHRED

Built on deep science.
Driven to deliver at scale.

InPHRED was founded to solve a 30-year photonics challenge and bring the resulting technology to market across three high-growth applications.

Our mission
Redefining photonic performance: from fundamental physics to volume production.

The photonics industry has long been constrained by a fundamental limitation: the physical properties of InP and GaN materials make it nearly impossible to build homoepitaxial DBR mirrors with sufficient reflectivity for VCSELs and RC-LEDs.

InPHRED's founders, led by Yale Professor Jung Han, discovered that selective electrochemical etching of n⁺-doped semiconductor layers creates a nanoporous structure with precisely tunable refractive index, delivering the mirror contrast needed for lasing in a scalable process.

From this single platform, we are building manufacturable light sources across previously inaccessible wavelengths for consumer sensing, digital health, and next-generation data center optical interconnects.

Science-first
We start with fundamental physics and build toward applications to ensure our technology advantages are durable and defensible, not incremental.
Fabless efficiency
As a design house, we leverage the mature compound semiconductor ecosystem, combining premium performance with the cost structure of high-volume foundry manufacturing.
Platform thinking
One patented process applied across material systems, device types, and markets: every new application strengthens our IP position and scales our addressable opportunity.
Speed to market
By building on mature telecom InP and GaN epi, we eliminate years of development risk to achieve short-term GTM.
The team

Decades of optoelectronics
commercialisation experience

Our founders and leadership team bring together world-class photonics science, semiconductor industry operations, and go-to-market strategy.

Jacob Tarn
Jacob Tarn, PhD
CEO & Chairman
Chairman, CEO, and acting COO of InPHRED. Formerly a chief executive for global F500 semiconductor leaders, with track record of bringing 5+ startups to market.
Rebecca Levonian
Rebecca Levonian, PhD
Chief Strategy Officer
Executive director responsible for defining strategy and driving sustained business growth. Formerly senior management at Wayfair & McKinsey.
Jin-Ho Kang
Jin-Ho Kang, PhD
Director of Technology
Expert in III-V epitaxy, design of optoelectronics and electronic devices, and characterization. Former co-founder at Ganvix.
Jung Han
Jung Han, PhD
Chief Scientist
Chair and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Yale University. Pioneer in semiconductor opto-electronics with 30+ years of R&D innovation. Founder of three Yale startups.
Chenziyi Mi
Chenziyi Mi, PhD
Engineer
Expert in VCSEL design, analytical characterisation, and numerical simulation.
Ken Ke
Ying "Ken" Ke
Technologist
Expert in fabrication and foundry process flow.
Chengjie Wang
Chengjie Wang
Technologist
Expert in fabrication and characterisation.
Chia-Feng Lin
Chia-feng Lin, PhD
VP of Operations
Chair and Professor of Materials Science at National Chung Hsing University with extensive experience in III–V nitride semiconductors.
Company timeline

From lab discovery to commercial traction

InPHRED was founded in 2023. Since then we validated our core technology and established early commercial relationships across three markets.

2023
InPHRED founded
Company formed around Prof. Jung Han's nanoporous DBR research, with initial focus on InP SWIR VCSEL commercialisation.
April 2024
$4M seed round closed
Seed funding secured to fund SWIR VCSEL prototype development, IP filing, and team formation.
Q2–Q3 2024
Platform expansion to GaN
Nanoporous process successfully applied to GaN material system, enabling visible RC-LEDs for health and USR interconnect applications.
Q3 2024
RC-LED delivered to Tier 1 OEM
Visible RC-LED samples delivered to a Tier 1 OEM partner for wearable health sensing qualification.
Q1 2025
27% PCE milestone achieved
Achieved key technical milestone of >25% peak conversion efficiency (PCE) for single aperture device.
Q3 2025
Glucose sensor prototype demonstrated
First-of-kind non-invasive optical glucose sensor prototype demonstrated using SWIR VCSEL + multi-wavelength approach.
Q1 2026
Market expansion to optical interconnects
InPHRED formally enters the data center optical interconnect market, targeting mid-board InP VCSEL and ultra-short-range micro-RC-LED solutions.
2026 →
Series B fundraise underway
Seeking $20M+ in Series B capital.
Ecosystem

Built on the mature compound
semiconductor ecosystem

InPHRED's fabless model draws on a carefully selected network of foundry and ODM partners across the US and Taiwan, enabling commercial-scale production without vertical integration.

Strategic Operations
US headquarters
Strategy, business development, IP management, and customer-facing operations
Operations
Taiwan hub
Around-the-clock manufacturing oversight, foundry coordination, and Asia-Pacific customer relationships
Manufacturing
4+ foundry partners
Compound semiconductor foundries across InP and GaN material systems, providing redundancy and scale
Assembly & integration
2+ ODM partners
Module-level integration and packaging partners for customer-ready product delivery

Join us on this journey

We're building the photonics platform that will power sensing, health, and connectivity for the next decade. Get in touch to explore partnership, investment, or career opportunities.

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