Can Ottawa become Photonic Valley?

The material that gave Silicon Valley its name has been surpassed by semiconductor tech 1,000 times faster: photonics, which transmits data on beams of light. Canada announced this week that it plans to allow private investment in the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC), a move Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said “will strengthen Canada’s leadership” in the sector. If you asked the crowd at Chips North in Ottawa, that’s an understatement.