# Nicholas Harris

> Nicholas Harris is the founder and CEO of Lightmatter, the photonic computing company rewriting the rules of AI infrastructure by replacing copper wires with light. A PhD from MIT's Quantum Photonics Lab, he grew up in the redwood forests of Gasquet, California, and turned years of academic research on programmable nanophotonic processors into a $4.4 billion company that has raised over $850 million from investors including Google Ventures and T. Rowe Price. With 87+ patents, 82 publications in Nature and its family of journals, and recognition as an Optica Fellow and MIT TR35 Innovator, Harris is building what he calls the next Moore's Law - not in transistors, but in optical interconnects.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Lightmatter
- **Organizations:** Lightmatter, MIT Quantum Photonics Laboratory, Optica (Fellow)
- **From:** Gasquet, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, BSc in Electrical Engineering, University of Idaho
- **Known for:** 87+ patents filed, 82 publications in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Physics, 10,448 research citations; h-index of 34

## Career timeline

- **2005-2009** — Earned BSc in Electrical Engineering at University of Idaho
- **2009-2011** — R&D Product Engineer at Micron Technology, focusing on DRAM and NAND circuits
- **2011-2013** — MS in Electrical Engineering at University of Washington
- **2012** — Began developing programmable nanophotonic processors (PNPs) at MIT
- **2013-2017** — PhD at MIT, working in Prof. Dirk Englund's Quantum Photonics Lab; NSF Graduate Research Fellow
- **2017** — Won MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition with Lightmatter concept
- **2017** — Founded Lightmatter in September; Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT
- **2021** — Named MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35
- **2022** — Named to The Photonics 100
- **2023** — Lightmatter reached unicorn status at $1.2B valuation after $155M Series C-2 round
- **2024** — Lightmatter raised $400M Series D led by T. Rowe Price; valuation hit $4.4B
- **2025** — Named among Goldman Sachs Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs
- **2026** — Elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America (Optica)

## Achievements

- 87+ patents filed
- 82 publications in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Physics
- 10,448 research citations; h-index of 34
- MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (2021) - selected from 500+ nominees
- Fellow of the Optical Society of America (Optica) - elected 2026
- Goldman Sachs Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs recognition (2025)
- Boston Globe Tech Power Players 50 (2024, #30)
- The Photonics 100 (2022, 2023)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2012)
- MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition winner (2017)
- Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Raised $850M+ total for Lightmatter; company valued at $4.4B
- Pioneered the field of programmable photonics as an international research discipline
- Lightmatter's Passage chip enables 1,024 GPUs to work synchronously at 30 Tbps throughput

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America (Optica)
- **2025-03** — Lightmatter launched first photonics-based networking interconnects for GPU connectivity, turbocharging data center performance
- **2025-01** — Named among Goldman Sachs Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2025
- **2024-10** — Lightmatter raised $400M Series D led by T. Rowe Price at $4.4B valuation
- **2024-01** — Named to Boston Globe Tech Power Players 50 at #30

## Links

- Website: https://nicholascharris.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-harris-7114b233/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/theanalognick

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nicholas-harris
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Last updated: 2026-05-11