Arne Leinse in the Tech30: the inventor who put Twente on the international photonics map with his sharp business insight

Arne Leinse’s career

Leinse obtained his PhD from the University of Twente in 2005. That same year, he joined LioniX, which had been founded in 2001 as Lion Photonix. From the outset, he was involved in the invention and development of TriPleX. LioniX made a name for itself internationally with this platform for photonic chips based on silicon nitride.

Leinse rose through the ranks to become vice-president and, in 2016, was appointed commercial director of the newly established LioniX International. He has been CEO since 2020. In addition, Leinse is the author or co-author of more than a hundred scientific articles.

LioniX handles everything under one roof: design, chip production, assembly and complete modules. According to Leinse, customers do not want individual components, but functioning systems. These customers operate in the telecoms, life sciences, measurement technology and aerospace sectors.

From lab to market at the speed of light

Few people have such a clear vision of the most efficient route from lab to market as Leinse. He helped invent the technology and subsequently turned it into a product with international appeal. It is still manufactured in the UT’s shared MESA+ cleanroom, alongside the researchers.

TriPleX has also given rise to new companies. One example is the diagnostics firm Surfix, in which LioniX and Qurin Diagnostics, amongst others, jointly invested 8.5 million euros in 2021. That is LioniX’s growth model. According to Leinse, the company has spawned many spin-offs and new applications, particularly in Twente.

The extent of these connections became clear this year. In early 2027, a TriPleX chip will be launched into space on a small satellite from Delft University of Technology. The sensor can detect molecular traces of life. The technology traces back to a chip that LioniX developed twenty years ago for ESA’s ExoMars mission.

One of the leading figures in European photonics

Photonics only works within a supply chain. Leinse knows this better than anyone. “In an innovative environment, you can’t just throw a task over the fence,” he says. “Our engineers need to be sitting in the same room as our partners’ engineers.”

That is precisely what is happening in the REMBRANDT project. In this project, Lockheed Martin is commissioning the development of microwave photonics for satellites and aircraft. The entire supply chain is based in the Netherlands. LioniX manufactures the chips, PHIX handles the assembly and the NLR carries out the validation. Leinse: “If you can serve a player like Lockheed, it opens up many more doors.”

Leinse is also building the supply chain beyond his own projects. LioniX is collaborating with New Origin, the new chip factory in Twente that aims to start large-scale production from 2027. And at international events such as Optica and EPIC, Leinse is one of the leading figures in European photonics. His message is clear: having more major players in Europe offers significant geopolitical advantages.

The jury’s verdict

Kees Eijkel, former director of QuTech:

“Environments can only truly shine when they combine strengths and make choices. In the Netherlands, including in the regions, you often see a huge fragmentation of initiatives: everyone wants to have a go at it. In Twente, Arne, through LioniX, has played a huge role in building up a strength on which the region can continue to build for years to come. For him, it is not just about the interests of his company, but also about the ecosystem from which that company emerged. A healthy ecosystem is also in the interests of a healthy company. At QuTech, we say: photonics is absolutely vital. If it hadn’t been so well organised there, we might have had to build it ourselves. Now, when we think of photonics, we automatically think of Twente. Arne rises above his own interests because he understands that if the whole thing is doing well, his company will do better too.”

Source: BusinessWise