Neurophos is a photonic AI chip startup spun out of metamaterials research, building an optical processing unit (OPU) designed to perform the core matrix operations of AI far more efficiently than silicon GPUs. Co-founded by Patrick Bowen, Neurophos uses metasurface-based optical modulators to integrate over one million micron-scale optical processing elements on a single chip, targeting up to 100x the performance and energy efficiency of leading processors for inference. The company aims to deliver data-center-ready OPU modules, a full software stack and early-access developer hardware to attack the surging energy and cost of large-scale AI inference. In January 2026 Neurophos closed an oversubscribed $110 million Series A led by Gates Frontier (Bill Gates' venture firm), bringing total funding to about $118 million, with participation from M12 (Microsoft's fund), Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Carbon Direct Capital, Space Capital and others. The funding expands its Austin headquarters and a new San Francisco engineering site.