Ayar Labs, a semiconductor startup based in San Jose, California, has raised $155m in new funding to accelerate the development of its optical I/O technology.
The investment, led by Advent Global Opportunities and Light Street Capital, brings the company’s total funding to $370m and elevates its valuation to over $1bn.
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The funding round also saw significant backing from notable investors, including AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and NVIDIA.
New investors, such as 3M Ventures and Autopilot, joined existing supporters like Applied Ventures LLC, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and GlobalFoundries.
Ayar Labs CEO and co-founder Mark Wade said: “The leading GPU providers – AMD and NVIDIA – and semiconductor foundries – GlobalFoundries, Intel Foundry, and TSMC – combined with the backing of Advent, Light Street, and our other investors underscores the potential of our optical I/O technology to redefine the future of AI infrastructure.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the backing of Light Street’s deep expertise in technology-specific investments as well as Advent’s robust private and growth equity background in this funding round.”
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By GlobalDataThe company intends to use the funds to further advance its optical I/O technology, which is designed to address the growing challenges of data transfer in AI infrastructure.
Ayar Labs claims that its optical I/O solution offers a faster alternative, improving data flow, reducing power consumption, and lowering operational costs for AI systems.
With AI infrastructure investments expected to surpass £1trn ($1.28trn) over the next decade, the need for advanced, high-performance data transfer solutions is becoming more critical.
Ayar Labs stated that its technology, optimised for both AI training and inference, is well-positioned to meet this demand, enhancing AI applications and reducing costs across the sector.
Ayar Labs’ optical I/O solution is built on open standards, is commercially ready, and aligns with the roadmaps of major AI infrastructure providers.
The company noted that it is now focused on scaling its technology for high-volume manufacturing.
Jordan Katz, partner at Advent Global Opportunities, who will be joining Ayar Labs’ Board of Directors, said: “We believe optical I/O is on the cusp of revolutionising the future of AI infrastructure, and we recognise the significant growth potential of in-package optical interconnects.
“Our deep research into the interconnect market revealed that Ayar Labs is led by a world-class team, has industry-leading technology, and exciting engagements with Tier 1 customers.
“We believe that supporting Ayar Labs and its groundbreaking technology will offer transformative benefits to AI systems.”
