Dr. Jon Pugh is Director of PIC and Quantum Technologies at Optica, where he leads engagement with companies developing photonic integrated circuits (PICs), optical interconnects, advanced packaging technologies, and quantum systems. He manages Optica’s corporate members in these areas, connecting them with potential partners, suppliers, customers, and investment opportunities, while providing market insights and facilitating opportunities for members to showcase their technologies to key stakeholders.
Through his role at Optica, Jon works closely with technology developers, system vendors, hyperscalers, foundries, and manufacturing partners across the AI infrastructure ecosystem. He develops and moderates executive-level industry forums on topics including co-packaged optics (CPO), optical scale-up and scale-out architectures, advanced packaging, and photonic technologies for next-generation AI datacenters, bringing together leaders from across the communications, semiconductor, and networking industries.
Prior to joining Optica, Jon was a Lecturer in Quantum Engineering at the University of Bristol, where he played a key role in the Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training. With more than a decade of research experience in integrated photonics and quantum enabling technologies, his work focused on advancing photonic integrated circuits and scalable single-photon sources while helping bridge the gap between academic research and commercial deployment.