Ayar Labs Lands Additional $25M in $130M Series C Round

Silicon photonics technology company Ayar Labs has raised an additional $25 million in series C1 funding. The funding brings the company ’ s total series C to $155 million. Ayar Labs said it will use the funds to accelerate the implementation and commercialization of its optical input/output (I/O) solutions to address the power consumption, latency, reach, and system bandwidth bottlenecks that threaten future advancements in generative AI, while also expanding product offerings and development efforts.

Ayar Labs’ TeraPHY optical I/O chiplet wafer. Courtesy of Ayar Labs.

Ayar Labs’ patented optical I/O approach uses industry-standard, cost-effective silicon-processing techniques to replace traditional electrical I/O with fast, high-density, low-power optical I/O chiplets and multiwavelength light sources. The optical approach aims to break the performance, power, and distance limitations of copper interconnect, critical for latency-sensitive applications such as high-performance computing, AI, and machine learning.

Optical I/O will also affect other areas that require rapid transfer of data, such as cloud and data center, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense, Ayar Labs said. In November 2022, Ayar Labs was awarded a $15 million multiyear prototype Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) in support of Project KANAGAWA — the Co-Packaged Analog-Drive High-Bandwidth Optical Input/Output Project. Ayar Labs said that the project promotes the development of interconnects to lead its transition into the Department of Defense’s advanced packaging ecosystem. During the first phase of Project KANAGAWA, Ayar Labs will deliver its I/O chiplets and lasers at data rate bandwidth levels exceeding 2 Tbit/s and energy losses below 5 pJ/bit. In phase two of the project, which is to run parallel to the first phase, Ayar Labs and collaborators Intel, Lockheed Martin, and Qorvo will develop and demonstrate co-packaged optical I/O solutions built on Ayar Labs’ TeraPHY optical I/O chiplets and SuperNova multiwavelength lasers.

NVIDIA, which participated in Ayar Labs’ earlier series C raise in April 2022, increased its investment in the company in the latest funding, which was led by new investor Capital TEN. Existing strategic and financial investors include Applied Ventures, GlobalFoundries, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, Intel Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures.

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Published: May 2023

Glossary

quantum: The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the atomic and subatomic scales. It originates from quantum theory, a branch of physics that emerged in the early 20th century to explain phenomena observed on very small scales, where classical physics fails to provide accurate explanations. In the context of quantum theory, several key concepts are associated with the term quantum: Quantum mechanics: This is the branch of...
multiplexing: The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier. In most optical communication systems this is referred to as wavelength division multiplexing, in which the combination of different signals for transmission are imbedded in multiple wavelengths over a single optical channel. The optical channel is a fiber optic cable or any other standard optical waveguide.
integrated photonics: Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The goal of integrated photonics is to miniaturize and consolidate optical elements in a manner similar to the integration of electronic components on a microchip in traditional integrated circuits. Key aspects of integrated photonics include: Miniaturization: Integrated photonics aims to...

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