Start-Up From The University Of Bonn Receives Seed Financing Worth Millions

Midel Photonics develops a novel solution for laser beam shaping

Targeted shaping of laser beams is of great importance for many processing steps in industry, such as the production of smartphones and electric cars. Conventional methods that use the inherently round beam shape of lasers are now reaching their limits: they are unsuitable for certain applications, such as cutting metal. The University of Bonn spin-off Midel Photonics solves this problem with a novel technology for laser beam shaping. It consists of special mirrors that bring the lasers into the desired shape. The technology is based on research carried out at the ML4Q Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn. The young company has now completed its seed financing round with one million euros. The investors include the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and the renowned industry experts Thomas Merk and Dr. Markus Dilger.

On their way to starting their own company, the four founders David Dung, Frederik Wolf, Christian Wahl, Christopher Grossert, among others, were supported by start-up advice from the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn. “We are very pleased about the success of Midel Photonics,” says Sandra Speer, head of enaCom. “This shows once again how innovative research at the University of Bonn finds a quick path to application.” David Dung from Midel Photonics also emphasizes this: “The path from basic research to entrepreneurial activity is not always easy. But the support from the university and the Transfer Center at the beginning of our journey helped us a lot. And now with the new financing we can take the next big steps.”

The founders will use the capital to position their innovative beam shaping technology more broadly in the market and expand their application portfolio. In addition to the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn, the founders were supported by EXIST research transfer funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection BMWK, the NRW.BANK, the High-Tech.NRW network and the RWTH Aachen Incubation Program.