Collaborate, simulate, and influence UK's photonics future
The UK is losing its window of opportunity to lead the global photonics industry despite an already substantial £8.6bn domestic sector.
LightForge provides a secure workspace where UK photonics stakeholders co-author white papers, funding bids, and policy recommendations in real time. Built-in economic simulation models show the projected impact of each proposal on the £8.6bn sector, enabling evidence-based collective action that strengthens domestic leadership.
UK science policymakers, photonics company CEOs, and research institution leaders
Integrated photonics economic impact simulator that quantifies ROI of policy proposals on jobs, patents, and exports
professional and collaborative
Multi-user editing of policy papers, roadmaps and funding proposals with comments and version history
Economic model that predicts effects of proposed policies on UK photonics output, jobs and global share
Templates and guided workflows for Horizon Europe bids, UKRI applications and parliamentary briefings
Integrated calendar and video rooms purpose-built for cross-sector photonics strategy sessions
Visual map of influence relationships between government, industry and academia
Track which recommendations were adopted and their measured impact over time
Automatically extracts action items and updates simulation models from recorded roundtables
One-click publishing of finalized documents with DOI and government submission tracking
Pre-fill application forms directly from platform proposals
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| org_id | uuid | Yes |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
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| id | uuid | No |
| name | text | No |
| type | text | No |
| verified | bool | No |
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| id | uuid | No |
| title | text | No |
| owner_id | uuid | No |
| simulation_data | text | Yes |
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| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
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| workspace_id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| role | text | No |
Relationships:
/api/workspacesList user's workspaces with permission checks
/api/simulateRun economic impact simulation on proposal data
/api/documentsCreate or update collaborative document
/api/roundtablesSchedule and manage virtual strategy sessions
Cannot create or edit
Up to 5 collaborators per workspace
Custom
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 65 | 12% | $273 | $3,276 |
| Month 6 | 520 | 21% | $3,822 | $45,864 |
Collaborate in one place, simulate policy impact, and produce influential recommendations that protect Britain's £8.6bn photonics leadership.
Secure pilot with the UK Photonics Consortium executive committee by offering free Enterprise access for 90 days while they build their next 5-year roadmap on the platform. Approach the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Photonics secretariat with a pre-populated simulation of proposed tax incentives. Offer free Pro accounts to 8 prominent research institute directors in exchange for co-creating one public whitepaper each.
Excellent real-time whiteboarding
No domain-specific economic models or photonics templates
Purpose-built simulation engine and policy templates for this exact ecosystem
Strong LaTeX collaboration for academics
No simulation, no policymaker experience, no video roundtables
Unified experience for both researchers and policymakers
Network effects from the most influential UK photonics stakeholders using the same platform plus a growing library of validated economic simulation models
Multiple overlapping government consultations on critical technologies, quantum strategy refresh, and semiconductor strategy have created an immediate need for coordinated cross-sector input.
Competing priorities prevent consistent collaboration
Design workflows that deliver value in single sessions and use AI summarization
Simulation model accuracy questioned
Partner with University of Southampton economics department for model validation and transparency
Sensitive policy discussion data governance
Enterprise-grade security, clear data ownership, UK hosting
Success: At least 3 groups agree to use platform for their next real policy project
Success: All 3 initiatives completed on platform with positive NPS > 40
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