Enlightra, a
deeptech startup developing chip-scale multiwavelength lasers for
next-generation data transmission, has raised a total of $15 million. Investors
include Y Combinator, Runa Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Protocol Labs, Halo Labs, Asymmetry Ventures, and TRAC VC, among others.
Modern AI
training increasingly depends on faster connections between GPUs, yet many
systems still rely on copper links constrained by bandwidth and power
consumption. As AI clusters and data centres scale, these limitations are
becoming more pronounced.
Enlightra’s
approach uses multiwavelength lasers that consolidate many discrete lasers into
a single integrated source, reducing power use, cost, and physical footprint.
Each wavelength functions as an independent data channel, enabling multiple
high-bandwidth connections from one laser source and supporting a shift from
copper wiring to compact optical links.
The world’s
AI infrastructure is hitting the limits of copper. Our lasers unlock a new
level of energy-efficient connectivity by turning light into the backbone of
GPU communication,
said Maxim Karpov, co-founder and co-CEO of Enlightra.
Using
additional wavelengths allows optical fibre networks to operate closer to their
full capacity, co-founder and co-CEO John Jost explained.
Our technology
enables AI clusters and data centres to scale more efficiently by decoupling
performance growth from energy and cost increases.
Built using
industry-standard silicon photonics fabrication processes, the lasers are
designed for large-scale manufacturing, enabling production at volumes suitable
for global data centre deployment. The company has developed 8- and 16-channel
lasers aligned with customer requirements for AI chip interconnects and reports
error-free data transmission at target speeds and power levels. Pilot
production is planned for 2027.
The
company’s vision extends beyond AI clusters. Its scalable comb-laser platform
could power future optical links across entire data centres, subsea cables, and
even chip-to-memory interconnects, with potential applications in quantum and
space-based communications.
The funding will support Enlightra’s next steps to
improve data-transfer speed and energy efficiency for AI infrastructure.