# Nicolas Muller

> Nicolas Muller is the co-founder and CEO of Arago, a Paris-based deep-tech startup building a photonic AI accelerator called JEF that uses light instead of transistors to perform AI inference at 10x lower energy than leading GPUs. Coming from a physics and machine learning background - including an ML degree from MIT - Muller co-founded Arago in 2024 alongside Eliott Sarrey and Ambroise Müller. The company raised an oversubscribed $26M seed round in July 2025 backed by Earlybird, Protagonist, Visionaries Tomorrow, and angels from Apple, Datadog, Hugging Face and Arm. Arago's approach - top-down from inference efficiency requirements, not bottom-up from optics research - delivered a working prototype in under 12 months.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Arago
- **Organizations:** Arago
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** Machine Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Arago and delivered a working photonic AI processor prototype within 12 months, Raised $26M oversubscribed seed round in July 2025 backed by top-tier VCs and industry angels, Built a 40-person team with engineers recruited from Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and leading research labs

## Career timeline

- **2022-2023** — Studied machine learning at MIT, deepening expertise at the intersection of physics and AI
- **2024** — Co-founded Arago in Paris with Eliott Sarrey (CTO) and Ambroise Müller (CSO), after meeting at a maker space
- **2024** — Arago selected as part of Station F's Future 40 for 2024
- **2024-2025** — Led Arago to deliver working prototype of JEF photonic processor within 12 months of founding
- **2025-07** — Closed oversubscribed $26M seed round led by Earlybird, Protagonist, and Visionaries Tomorrow; spoke at Web Summit Lisbon

## Achievements

- Co-founded Arago and delivered a working photonic AI processor prototype within 12 months
- Raised $26M oversubscribed seed round in July 2025 backed by top-tier VCs and industry angels
- Built a 40-person team with engineers recruited from Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and leading research labs
- Selected for Station F's Future 40 for 2024
- Speaker at Web Summit Lisbon 2025
- Developed JEF: a multi-physics processor combining silicon photonics, free-space optics, and analog/digital electronics

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Arago closes $26M oversubscribed seed round led by Earlybird, Protagonist, and Visionaries Tomorrow, with angels including Bertrand Serlet (former Apple VP), Olivier Pomel (Datadog co-founder), Thomas Wolf (Hugging Face co-founder), and Jack Abraham (Exowatt)
- **2025-07** — Nicolas Muller speaks at Web Summit Lisbon 2025 as representative of Arago
- **2024-11** — Arago named in Station F's Future 40 for 2024

## Links

- Website: https://arago.inc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-muller-/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mullernicolas/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nicolas-muller
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13