24,000 Registered Attendees Fill the Halls of Successful SPIE Photonics West 2025

The largest annual optics and photonics event of the year highlighted exciting new research, networking, and the latest in photonics products and industry trends

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, registered 24,000 optics and photonics professionals from over 75countries for Photonics West, as the Society hosted the largest international annual photonics meeting at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The dynamic week, which ran from 25 to 30 January, featured 1,588 exhibitors and 5,000 technical presentations across four focused tracks – BiOS, LASE, OPTO, Quantum West – four exhibitions, and the co-located AR | VR | MR conference.

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SPIE Photonics West 2025 exhibition opens for business at San Francisco's Moscone Center. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Photonics West marks the start of the optics and photonics calendar every year,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. “And this year, it also marked a truly exciting milestone for SPIE as the Society’s Membership surpassed 25,000! In addition, our newest conference, Quantum West, continues to grow, reflecting the ongoing development of this exciting technological area and its many applications. Throughout the week, Photonics West 2025 proved to be a terrific meeting of minds, showcasing the varied ways optics and photonics technologies are impacting our lives, and now I’m looking forward to Photonics West 2026, an event which is already in the works.”

As always, the action-filled week showcased the latest innovative technologies and discoveries stemming from a diverse and thriving optics and photonics community, bringing together researchers, innovators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders from across the globe. More than 100 technical conferences complemented the four exhibitions, bringing researchers and companies together to further science, technology, and applications. The week also included a wide range of live product demonstrations on the exhibition floors as well as a job fair.

The SPIE Industry Program continues to highlight key and critical areas. The SPIE Global Business Forum – which brings together top industry executives for high-level presentations, networking, and conversations – was once again a sold-out success. The glamorous Prism Awards, now in its 17^th year, celebrated the best new optics and photonics products, while the inspiring Startup Challenge pitch competition recognized three exciting emerging photonics companies. And at the Quantum West Business Summit, speakers and panelists discussed the current trends in this rapidly growing technical and commercial arena.

In addition, 52 educational courses offered expert-led technical training and learning, complementing the many various professional development and networking opportunities on offer throughout the week: From the Lunchtime Professional Development Education series to social events, Photonics West featured a packed calendar of meet-ups, canine-focused relaxation time, and interactive, collaborative gatherings. And in conjunction with Photonics West, SPIE celebrated 20 years of its Women in Optics notebook, bringing together such luminaries as Ursula Keller, Muyinatu "Bisi" Bell, and Jessica Wade for a day-long event of speakers, panelists, and conversations.

While the week held myriad opportunities for attendees to learn, network, and share their latest advancements, it was the buzzing exhibitions – BiOS Expo, the Photonics West exhibition, the Quantum West Expo, and the AR | VR | MR exhibition – that best showcased the increasingly critical photonics industry and the importance of in-person meetings.

“We started out very fast, very busy right off the jump,” said Optikos Director of Operations Dennis Fantone. “It’s been really exciting connecting with old colleagues and friends that hadn’t been to the show before or hadn’t been in a few years. And this is also a great place to meet up not just with customers but with vendors as well: It’s great to get the personal touch that you just get over email and phone.”

“We’ve had really good traffic and have been able to see old customers and suppliers as well as making new contacts,” said Wasatch Photonics Senior Optical Engineer Elroy Pearson. “Photonics West has been really fruitful.”

“I’ve been going to Photonics West ever since it was a tiny, tiny show in San Jose,” said NKT President and CEO Basil Garabet. “We like this show – for us it’s the big show in the US. And because we are very much into the medical and bio area, being at BiOS as well is good for us. We like the position we’re in on the show floor because we don’t have to move – so that works really well for us: we just set up one booth for both shows. Now we are part of Hamamatsu, and they are right across the way, so again that’s worked out really well for us. It’s altogether good, and we look forward to it when we come over. It’s been a very good week.”

“Photonics West 2025 has highlighted the industry’s strong focus on precision, integration, and scalability in optical and photonic technologies,” noted Dr. Efstratios (Stratos) Kehayas, President, Photonics at G&H. “We’ve seen significant interest in advanced laser beam shaping, integrated photonics for compact systems, and high-reliability optical components for demanding applications in industrial, laser fusion and life sciences. The conversations at our booth reflect a growing demand for solutions that enhance performance while addressing challenges in power efficiency, miniaturization, and system integration.”

During the Photonics West week, SPIE also announced its latest SPIE Endowment Matching Program partnerships, one with Boston University and another with National University of Singapore.

As SPIE Director of Sales Jeff Nichols points out, even after this exciting week, there’s so much to look forward to. “The week of Photonics West has always been the best place to see the size and scope of our industry,” notes Nichols. “And in 2026, we're thrilled to be adding VisionTech, a new exhibit and technical program that will showcase the photonics technologies enabling the imaging and vision markets. With the continued growth of Photonics West, SPIE is turning San Francisco in January into a single stop for anyone interested in the latest advancements in photonics technologies and the numerous applications that they enable.”

SPIE Photonics West 2026 will take place 17-22 January at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The call for papers for the 2026 event will open in Spring of 2025.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, we have invested more than $25 million in the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.

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