En klar mission om at bygge morgendagens energi-effektive datacenter infrastruktur

Who are you?

"Phanofi is a deep-tech startup based in DTU Science Park, Lyngby, focused on transforming how AI datacenters communicate, making them faster, more scalable, and significantly more energy-efficient."

"The company was co-founded by Hitesh Kumar Sahoo, CEO, and Dagmawi Alemayehu Bekele, CTO. Both bring over a decade of experience in photonics and semiconductor research, with backgrounds rooted in leading academic institutions and cutting-edge innovation. Phanofi’s team is a blend of deep technical expertise and forward-thinking innovation with expertise in photonics, electronics and quantum technology," says Haris Marata, Operations & People Manager at Phanofi.

What is your story?

“Phanofi began as a spin-off from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), rooted in over a decade of cutting-edge research at DTU Fotonik - one of Europe’s leading groups in nanophotonic device innovation. The idea was born from the PhD and postdoctoral work of Dagmawi, who explored advanced photonic circuit design under the guidance of Professor Jesper Mørk’s group.” 
 
“Motivated by the potential to turn deep research into real-world impact, Dagmawi teamed up with Hitesh Kumar Sahoo, whose entrepreneurial drive and background in semiconductor manufacturing brought the commercial vision to life. Together, they founded Phanofi with a clear mission: to build the next generation of fast, energy-efficient datacenter infrastructure,” Haris Marata continues.

What is your product?

“Phanofi is developing energy-efficient, high-speed photonic interconnect chips designed to power the internal communication infrastructure of AI datacenters. As demand for AI computing accelerates, existing datacenter networks are struggling to keep up—limited by both bandwidth and power consumption. AI datacenters require a dense mesh of high-speed links to maintain low latency, which significantly increases their energy footprint," Says Hitesh Kumar Sahoo, Co-founder & CEO, Phanofi.
  
“Our solution offers a simple, scalable, and low-power alternative to current optical transceivers. By enabling data transmission on multiple dimensions of light, we help datacenters meet growing performance demands without compromising energy efficiency,” Hitesh continues.

What value do you wish to create?

“At Phanofi, we believe computing should be both powerful and sustainable. Our mission is to reduce the environmental impact of AI and datacenter operations while pushing the boundaries of data transmission speed and efficiency. We’re building the foundation for a more responsible, data-driven future.”

What are you currently working on?  

“We are currently developing our minimum viable product in close collaboration with leading players in the datacenter interconnect industry. Our strength lies in photonics and electronics design, while we partner with industry experts for manufacturing and assembly. We see Phanofi as a photonics design powerhouse, laying the groundwork for the future of compute and quantum communication from Denmark,” Hitesh says.

How does a DI Digital membership contribute to your company?

“Being part of this initiative gives us a valuable opportunity to learn more about the digital ecosystem and explore how we can contribute meaningfully to building a sustainable digital future for Denmark. We are excited to engage with the diverse perspectives and ideas that will be shared, and we look forward to the many events and networking sessions ahead. Through these collaborations, we aim to be an active and contributing partner to DI Digital to work together on driving innovation and long-term impact,” Hitesh Kumar Sahoo wraps up.