Defiance Launches Europe's First Photonics UCITS ETF (PHOT)

• Defiance has expanded its European ETF lineup with the launch of the Defiance Photonics UCITS ETF (ticker: PHOT).
• The ETF seeks to provide exposure to companies developing, manufacturing, and commercialising photonic technologies, the optical hardware that generates, moves, and processes data using light rather than electricity.
• This is Defiance's 5th launch since entering the European UCITS ETF market earlier this year. In that time, Defiance has accumulated $162.57 million in assets under management (AUM) across its UCITS product range.1
• The ETF is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana, with Xetra to follow.
   

MIAMI, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Defiance ETFs is excited to announce the launch of the Defiance Photonics UCITS ETF (ticker: PHOT), Europe's first photonics ETF. The Fund seeks to provide exposure to companies developing, manufacturing, and commercialising photonic technologies, the optical hardware that generates, moves, and processes data using light rather than electricity.

Defiance Photonics UCITS ETF
ISIN: IE000W1S2PT6
TER: 0.69%

The AI capex buildout is becoming one of the largest corporate investment cycles in history. JP Morgan has estimated that global AI and data centre infrastructure spending could reach more than $5 trillion through 2030, with that spending reshaping demand across the technology supply chain, from power and cooling to memory and advanced networking.2

Photonics is emerging as a key part of this infrastructure story. Photonics is the use of light to generate, transmit, and process information. In data centres, this means replacing or complementing electrical connections with optical technologies that can move data between chips, servers, and racks at much higher speeds and with lower energy loss.3

AI systems require huge amounts of data to move continuously between processors, memory, and networking equipment. As AI clusters become larger, and as inference workloads scale, data movement is becoming a critical bottleneck in terms of bandwidth, latency, power consumption, and heat. Optical interconnects can move more data over longer distances than copper, while using less power per bit transmitted.4

The opportunity also extends beyond AI. Photonic technologies are increasingly important for cloud data centres, high-performance computing, telecom networks, and next-generation connectivity. As the digital economy requires faster, denser, and more energy-efficient data movement, photonics is becoming a critical enabling layer of the modern technology stack.

The Defiance Photonics UCITS ETF provides targeted exposure across the photonics value chain, including:

• Optical components and light sources
• Photonic semiconductors and interconnect chips
• Optical systems and networking
• Photonic foundries and manufacturing infrastructure
• Enabling materials
  
   

These areas include technologies such as lasers, transceivers, fibre arrays, connectors, photonic integrated circuits, optical interposers, modulators, and other components used in modern optical connectivity.

This is Defiance's 5th launch since entering the European UCITS ETF market earlier this year.5

Sylvia Jablonski, CIO of Defiance ETFs, commented: “Defiance is excited to bring Europe's first photonics ETF to market. AI is generating more data than electrical connections can efficiently move, and photonics, the use of light to transmit and process information, is emerging as the answer. We built PHOT to give investors focused, transparent exposure to the companies across the photonics value chain, rather than a thin slice buried inside a broad tech basket.”

Hector McNeil, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HANetf, commented: “We are delighted that Defiance is expanding its European range with the launch of the first photonics UCITS ETF. As AI and cloud computing continue to drive demand for faster and more efficient data movement, photonics is emerging as an increasingly important layer of the technology infrastructure stack. This launch gives European investors targeted access to companies helping to build the optical backbone needed to support the next phase of AI and digital connectivity.”

For full fund details, including the prospectus and Key Information Document, visit hanetf.com.

About Defiance ETFs
Founded in 2018, Defiance is a leading ETF issuer specializing in thematic, income, and leveraged ETFs. The firm manages 75+ ETFs designed to provide targeted exposure to high-growth sectors including AI infrastructure, quantum computing, drones and modern warfare, and other emerging technologies.

About HANetf
HANetf is an independent provider of UCITS ETFs, working with asset management companies to bring differentiated, modern, and innovative exposures to European ETF investors. Via our white-label ETF platform, HANetf provides a complete operational, regulatory, distribution and marketing solution for asset managers to launch and manage UCITS ETFs. www.hanetf.com