Event Summary

CadenceCONNECT Photonics is back, and this year, we're marking a decade of transformation in the photonic IC industry. Join Cadence and industry leaders on October 14 and 15, 2026.

Ten years ago, photonic ICs were a promising idea sitting on the edge of the possible. Immature design flows. Limited manufacturing. An unproven business case. Today? The tooling is there. The PDKs are there. The foundry capacity is there. Photonics has moved from feasibility to scale—and it's now woven into the AI infrastructure. 

This year's CadenceCONNECT Photonics theme celebrates exactly that journey: from an early glimmer of potential, to proven application, to global impact at scale. 

Before the industry looks ahead to the next decade, we want to ground the conversation in how we actually got here—and what that means for what comes next. 

Why Attend?

The photonics industry didn't reach maturity by accident. It took a decade of deliberate progress, collaboration, and vision. CadenceCONNECT Photonics 2026 brings together the people who made it happen and the innovators who will define what comes next. 

Whether you're an engineer deep in the design flow, a business leader building your roadmap, or a researcher pushing the boundaries of what's possible, this is the event to be at.