Aeluma, Inc.

Aeluma, Inc., a small-business semiconductor manufacturer based in Goleta, California, develops photonic integrated circuits, quantum dot devices, and advanced photodetectors for federal research and defense agencies primarily as a prime contractor under total small-business set-asides. The company operates across SBIR/STTR programs, agency R&D contracts, and a significant Other Transaction research vehicle with DARPA, with 87% of recent awards held as prime contracts and grants totaling $19.2 million in combined potential value across fifteen awards.

Aeluma's core capability portfolio centers on heterogeneous integration of semiconductor materials on silicon substrates, quantum dot photonic integrated circuits, shortwave infrared focal plane arrays, and broadband photodetector technologies for visible and near-infrared applications. Representative recent work includes a $2.05 million DoD SBIR Phase 2 award from the Department of the Army (April 2026) for development of an integrated quantum dots platform for multi-channel coherent optical amplification, a $1.95 million Army SBIR Phase 2 contract (April 2026) on heterogeneous integration of nonlinear compound semiconductor materials on silicon photonics, and a $1.3 million Naval Air Warfare Center SBIR Phase 2 contract (June 2025) for advanced sensor and communications R&D. The company also holds a multi-award Other Transaction IDV with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (M-STUDIO, Material Synthesis Technologies for Universal and Diverse Integration Opportunities) valued at $11.7 million, awarded September 2024, which funds semiconductor materials and device integration research outside FAR authority.

Customer concentration is spread across defense and civilian research agencies with DARPA anchoring most potential value. DARPA accounts for $11.7 million of the $19.2 million combined potential value (61%), followed by the Department of the Army at $4 million (21%), the Naval Air Systems Command Naval Air Warfare Center at $2.1 million across four awards (11%), and smaller portfolios with NASA's Shared Services Center, the Department of Energy Office of Science, Naval Sea Systems Command, and the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory. Top customers by award count differ from the dollar ranking: the Naval Air Warfare Center leads with four SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 contracts, followed by the NASA Shared Services Center with three STTR and definitive-contract awards on quantum dot photonic integration.

Activity has remained steady — two awards in 2023, five in 2024, five in 2025, and three in early 2026 — with three awards (combined potential value $3.1 million) reaching ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months. Federal grant work includes two Department of Energy Office of Science project grants (CFDA 81.049) totaling approximately $400 thousand for shortwave infrared focal plane array development and scalable photodetector research (2024 and 2025 awards), and sub-grantee participation with The Research Foundation for the State University of New York on quantum-dot laser integration and MOCVD process development for AIM Photonics ecosystem alignment and DoD access.

Aeluma's SBIR/STTR concentration reflects its posture: nine of fifteen awards fall under NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), with four awards classified under National Defense R&D Services for DoD applied research and three under basic research. The company executes work in Goleta, California with occasional sub-performance at partner institutions such as SUNY's Center for Semiconductor Research in Albany for wafer production and materials integration. All prime contract and grant awards carry total small-business set-aside designations; the DARPA Other Transaction vehicle operates without set-aside restrictions as a multiple-award research vehicle.