Optical interconnect startup Ayar Labs closes $35 million Series B funding round

Nov. 12, 2020
Ayar Labs is developing “chiplets” and lasers to provide optical I/O (OIO) for co-packaged optics and related applications wherein OIO would replace standard electrical interconnect.

Ayar Labs, a startup founded in 2015 and focused on optical interconnect, says it has landed $35 million in Series B funding. Downing Ventures (U.K.) and BlueSky Capital co-led the round, with with the former a new investor and the latter an existing one. Other new investors include Applied Ventures, LLC, Castor Ventures, and SGInnovate (Singapore). They join previous investors Founders Fund, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Intel Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and Playground Global as well as BlueSky Capital.

The company says it plans to use the cash infusion to speed up product development and commercialization of its in-package optical interconnect (OIO) technology and expand its footprint internationally. Ayar Labs is developing “chiplets” and lasers to provide OIO for co-packaged optics and related applications wherein OIO would replace standard electrical interconnect. The company asserts its technology can lead to a 1000X improvement in interconnect bandwidth density at 10X lower power than conventional electronic interconnect. Ayar Labs has worked with Intel on co-packaged optics via the DARPA PIPES initiative.

“Over the last year, we have continued to invest and grow our organization, and have demonstrated a number of technology firsts while securing additional customer and ecosystem relationships,” said Charles Wuischpard, CEO of Ayar Labs. “The investment interest from new and existing strategic and financial investors despite these difficult global times allows us to continue executing our long-range plan for making Ayar Labs Optical I/O a ubiquitous computing solution.”

“Ayar Labs represents the future of interconnects which have eventual applicability to every electronic device on earth,” commented Warren Rogers, partner and head of ventures at Downing Ventures. “We have the highest confidence that when their optical I/O technology is applied to computing, the industry can accelerate even faster than Moore’s Law and redefine the boundaries of computing.”

“We’ve been an investor in Ayar Labs since the beginning and have been looking for opportunities to increase our ownership in the company,” added Madison Hamman, managing director of Blue Sky Capital. “We are very excited about Ayar Labs and believe in their patented technology and execution of a plan that makes it a core building block of future computing systems.”

For related articles, visit the Optical Technologies Topic Center.

For more information on optical components and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.

To stay abreast of optical communications technology, subscribe to Lightwave’s Enabling Technologies Newsletter.

About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.

Sponsored Recommendations

Transforming the metro network and the evolution of the "Digital Service Provider"

March 4, 2025
Join experts at EXFO and Ekinops in this webinar that will review the evolving metro-centric requirements and the technologies emerging to meet them.

AI and Network Convergence: Transforming Global Connectivity

March 7, 2025
In today’s hyperconnected world, rolling out and managing profitable, high-performance networks for access and transport will require innovative architectural approaches. The ...

Unveiling the Synergy Between AI and Optical Networking

March 12, 2025
Join us for an engaging discussion with industry experts on the intersection of AI and optics. Moderated by Sean Buckley, editor-in-chief of Lightwave+BTR, this panel will explore...

On Topic: Fiber - The Rural Equation

Oct. 29, 2024
RURAL BROADBAND:AN OPPORTUNITY AND A CHALLENGE The rural broadband market has always been a challenge for service providers. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted ...