CASSTAR's Mi Lei: A Decade-Long Wait for the Photonics Era to Explode

A Decade-Long Promise of Light

As AI waves sweep the globe and large model funding rounds routinely reach billions, a group of investors has chosen a longer, lonelier path — betting on photonics technology. Mi Lei, founding partner of CASSTAR, is one of the most steadfast travelers on this road. Since CASSTAR's founding in 2013, he has spent over a decade practicing a simple yet profound belief: "Every major technological revolution spends its first 10 years building infrastructure and the next 10 years experiencing an explosion of applications."

This is not a slogan but a complete technology-cycle methodology, and the foundational logic behind CASSTAR's sustained commitment to deep-tech investing.

The Photonics Industry: An Underestimated Technological Revolution

As early as 2010, Mi Lei introduced the concept of the "Photonics Era." He argued that after the brilliance of the electronics age, human civilization is entering a new epoch with photons as the core carrier. Optical communications, optical computing, optical sensing, laser manufacturing — photonics technology is approaching the tipping point from laboratory to industrialization.

However, unlike the "rapid iteration, winner-takes-all" rhythm of software and internet sectors, the photonics industry's foundation rests on deep-tech elements such as materials, devices, and processes, each requiring long periods of technological accumulation and industrial support. Mi Lei likens this process to "building roads and bridges" — without completed infrastructure, there can be no flourishing at the application level.

Currently, the global photonics industry is experiencing a resonance of several key variables: AI computing demand is accelerating the deployment of optical interconnects and silicon photonics chips; autonomous driving is driving large-scale mass production of LiDAR; quantum information technology is creating urgent demand for single-photon detectors; and advanced manufacturing's reliance on high-power lasers continues to climb. These signals all validate Mi Lei's judgment from years ago — the photonics infrastructure phase is nearing its end, and the eve of the application explosion has arrived.

CASSTAR's Long-Termism Investment Philosophy

CASSTAR was born from the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, giving it a natural research pedigree in optics and photonics. Over more than a decade, CASSTAR has invested in and incubated numerous photonics startups, building a comprehensive portfolio that spans the entire photonics value chain — from core materials and components to systems and applications. This patient, infrastructure-first approach exemplifies the firm's long-termism philosophy and positions it to reap significant rewards as the photonics application era finally arrives.