Lightmatter, a supercomputing photonic startup, recently secured an impressive $400 million in a Series D funding round. This funding was led by new investor T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and has brought Lightmatter’s valuation to a staggering $4.4 billion, which is four times higher than its previous valuation of $1.2 billion in December.
Founded in 2017, Lightmatter is dedicated to addressing the challenges of energy consumption and scalability in new AI data centers. The company utilizes light to connect chips and perform the complex calculations required for deep learning in AI. CEO Nicholas Harris emphasized that Lightmatter is not just advancing AI infrastructure but reinventing it with their innovative Passage technology, which is the fastest photonic engine in the world.
One of the key issues facing data centers today is the need for high-bandwidth, low-latency data movement due to the increasing AI workloads. Lightmatter’s Passage technology tackles this challenge by utilizing 3D-stacked photonics chips to move data efficiently while reducing power consumption.
The recent funding received by Lightmatter will be utilized to deploy Passage on a larger scale in partner data centers. This will enable the necessary scaling for continued AI innovation, according to a statement released by the company.
The investment in Lightmatter comes at a time when there is a surge in funding for data-centric AI startups. Xscape Photonics, another startup focusing on photonics technology for AI data centers, recently announced a $44 million Series A funding round. With the rapid evolution of AI technology, big tech companies are expected to invest billions in new data centers to support the growth of AI.
Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV, highlighted the importance of photonics technology in advancing data center capabilities for AI. He expressed confidence in Lightmatter’s vision and leadership in data center photonics, emphasizing their role in driving the next wave of AI innovation and scalability.
As Lightmatter continues to push the boundaries of AI infrastructure with its groundbreaking technology, the funding secured in this latest round will play a crucial role in accelerating the deployment of Passage and driving the future of AI computing. With the support of investors like T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Google Ventures, and Fidelity Management and Research Co., Lightmatter is poised to lead the way in revolutionizing AI data centers and shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
