Enlightra x TofuPilot: 100x Faster
Scaling deep tech hardware for mass production is notoriously challenging. But when your technology has the potential to change the world, you are compelled to do it right and fast.
Today we’re excited to share more on how Enlightra’s engineers are using TofuPilot to streamline their development process and bridge the gap from lab to production scale.
Enlightra is pioneering the development of multicolor comb lasers, integrating them into data centers and optical interconnects to enhance data transfer speeds by 100 times and reduce energy consumption by 10. With data centers on track to consume a fifth of the world’s electricity by 2025 due to the growing demands from generative AI, content streaming, and advanced scientific simulations, the urgency of Enlightra’s mission cannot be overstated.
Emerging from cutting-edge microcomb research at EPFL, Enlightra has been recognized as the first European photonic startup to join the prestigious Y Combinator program.
Solving growth challenges
The journey of Enlightra’s engineering team from concept to market-ready product is filled with obstacles. Balancing rapid innovation through short product iterations with the rigors of scaling for production is a complex challenge for any team developing modern hardware products.
Johana, the Lead Engineer at Enlightra, shares their experience with these challenges:
“As our team and volumes grew, managing our projects on Google Drive became increasingly difficult, costing us valuable engineering time in searching for information. I looked for specialized industrial solutions but found them inadequate to our needs, until I found TofuPilot.”
Lead Engineer at Enlightra
TofuPilot is specifically designed to address the needs of modern hardware teams similar to Enlightra's. It offers a powerful and accessible platform for hardware engineering teams to keep track of their project data, set specific objectives, and track progress.
Quick integration and fast results
TofuPilot was quickly adopted by Enlightra's team, thanks to its smooth self-onboarding and user-friendly interface. In just two days, the engineering team at Enlightra effectively tackled their most urgent challenges:
- Track their prototypes, which each had a unique and complex set of components,
- Keep a connection between the prototypes and their original designs,
- Bring together their validation plans and make sure results could be traced back to each prototype and design.
“TofuPilot provides us with a clear view of what’s happening and improves our collaboration. We now all have access to the various development aspects of our products on a single platform.”
Lead Engineer at Enlightra
Evolving to meet new needs
As Enlightra's projects progressed and new challenges emerged, TofuPilot helped the team quickly adapt and implement the needed workflows instantly.
For example, TofuPilot's defects feature streamlined non-conformance and corrective actions tracking, allowing engineers to easily link issues to specific prototypes and designs for complete traceability.
TofuPilot is now an integral part of Enlightra development process, from the lab's clean room to project follow-up meetings. It provides a solid foundation for Enlightra to grow while maintaining agility.
“We are just at the beginning of scaling to larger volumes. We feel that TofuPilot will grow alongside us and help us track down the development of our products.”
Lead Engineer at Enlightra
Join Enlightra and many other hardware teams building on TofuPilot today!