Photonic Valley
Lithuania builds the world's best laser systems. From EKSPLA's petawatt-class lasers powering particle physics research to Brolis Semiconductors' mid-infrared chips for defence sensors, Lithuanian photonics punches far above its weight. 95 of the 100 top global universities use Lithuanian photonics. Vilnius' secret: 50+ years of laser physics excellence concentrated in Vilnius, producing €176M annually from just 1,300 engineers—95% exported globally.
Canada has the foundation, not the finish line. Our National Research Council operates North America's only pure-play compound semiconductor foundry. We excel at photonic chip fabrication. But when companies need complete systems—laser + chip + optics + packaging—they face a vendor nightmare: sourcing components from Germany, routing from the US through the UK for tariff reasons, over-engineering prototypes to accommodate incompatible parts. One founder recently lost 5 months from a shipping redirect alone.
The gap is integration. No facility in North America can deliver end-to-end photonic modules from a single source. You get either research-grade wafer fabrication or volume component manufacturing, never both under one roof with systems expertise.
Ontario closes it. Combine Lithuanian laser systems and epitaxy prowess with Canadian foundry infrastructure and USMCA market access. Build the continent's first vertically integrated photonics facility: customer brings specs, we deliver tested modules in weeks, not quarters. Single vendor. Zero tariffs to the US. Dual-use ready for quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, and defence applications.
Lithuania knows how to export. Canada knows how to scale. Fruitbloom brings the two together to eliminate the integration tax.
Let's Make Some Lasers