Professor Graham Reed is a pioneer in silicon photonics. In 1989, he founded the Silicon Photonics group at the University of Surrey, and in 2012, Professor Reed brought his team to the University of Southampton as the deputy director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre. Today, he serves as the director of the Cornerstone Photonics Innovation Center, an open-source, license-free silicon photonics prototyping foundry. In this Spotlight conversation, Professor Reed discusses the future of silicon photonics and the role Cornerstone will play in its advancement in the U.K. and around the world.