Photonics leader Lightmatter secures $400m, valued at $4.4bn as demand for AI supercomputing grows

Lightmatter, a pioneer in photonic supercomputing, has raised a staggering $400 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its valuation to $4.4 billion. The fundraise represents a significant leap for the company, quadrupling its value from previous rounds and further solidifying its position as the leader in next-generation computing infrastructure for AI data centers. The Series D round was led by new investors advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and included participation from existing backers, such as Fidelity Management & Research Company and GV (Google Ventures). With this new infusion of capital, Lightmatter has now raised a total of $850 million to date.

The company plans to use the funds to scale up its groundbreaking Passage™ photonic engine, preparing it for mass deployment in AI data centers worldwide. Passage is the world’s first 3D-stacked photonic engine, designed to revolutionise AI infrastructure by addressing the critical bottlenecks of high-bandwidth, low-latency data movement. This latest round of financing will enable Lightmatter to expand the technology’s adoption, setting new standards for performance and efficiency in the AI landscape.

Nick Harris, Lightmatter’s co-founder and CEO, expressed excitement about the company’s trajectory, stating that Passage is not just advancing AI infrastructure but reinventing it entirely. Harris explained that the technology would push through the limitations that are currently holding back AI computing, setting a new precedent for supercomputing.

Photonics: The Future of AI Data Centers

The explosive growth of AI models, particularly frontier AI models, has pushed the limits of traditional data center infrastructure. AI training clusters now surpass 100,000 XPUs, and as they continue to grow, the demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency data movement increases. Traditional electronic interconnects are struggling to keep up with these requirements, causing significant bottlenecks in scaling AI workloads.

Lightmatter’s Passage technology directly addresses this issue by leveraging photonic chips that can transmit data using light instead of electricity. The breakthrough here lies in the 3D-stacked design, which allows for a massive increase in bandwidth while significantly lowering power consumption. This innovation frees up XPU shoreline space to accommodate more memory, which is another crucial element in scaling AI performance. By optimising data movement within AI clusters, Passage enables data centers to efficiently scale their systems without running into performance barriers.

Tony Wang, portfolio manager for the T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund, praised Lightmatter for its pioneering approach. Wang noted that the demand for AI supercomputers that can power the next wave of frontier AI models is only set to grow, and he expressed confidence in Lightmatter’s ability to meet these needs with their photonic technologies.

Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV, echoed similar sentiments, pointing out that AI is evolving at a rate much faster than anyone predicted, putting immense pressure on data center technology. He highlighted that Lightmatter’s photonics technology is more than just a breakthrough—it represents the future of data centers that will house millions of XPUs dedicated to AI workloads. Nordlander lauded the company’s progress, expressing continued support as Lightmatter advances its mission of building the supercomputers of tomorrow.

A Record-Breaking Year for Lightmatter: From Series C-2 to Series D

Lightmatter’s Series D funding success comes on the back of a year filled with impressive milestones. In December 2023, the company had already made waves with a $155 million Series C-2 round, led by GV (Google Ventures) and Viking Global Investors. This funding round brought Lightmatter’s total capital raised to over $420 million at the time and pushed the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion. The Series C-2 marked a critical moment for Lightmatter, allowing it to accelerate the development of its full stack of photonics-enabled hardware and software solutions.

These solutions are essential for highly compute-intensive workloads, particularly in artificial intelligence, where demands for computing power have surged across industries. Lightmatter’s photonic technologies reconstruct how chips calculate and communicate, offering a significant leap in both power efficiency and performance—two of the most crucial elements for scaling AI infrastructure.

Strategic Leadership and Expansion

The company’s ability to attract top talent and leadership has further reinforced its trajectory toward rapid growth. Following the December 2023 funding round, Lightmatter made strategic hires and appointments that are set to strengthen its market position. Simona Jankowski was appointed Chief Financial Officer, bringing with her extensive experience in leading financial strategies for technology companies. Additionally, the company welcomed Richard Beyer and Robin Washington to its Board of Directors, both of whom have deep expertise in driving growth for high-tech businesses.

In terms of physical expansion, Lightmatter opened a new office in Toronto, as part of its continued effort to scale operations and increase its presence in key markets. The company has also grown its team substantially, adding key personnel across various departments to meet the growing demand for its photonic technology solutions.

The Road Ahead: Meeting AI’s Unprecedented Demands

Lightmatter’s journey from its earlier funding rounds to its Series D success mirrors the broader industry trend where AI demands are accelerating faster than existing infrastructure can handle. As AI models grow in complexity and size, the need for more efficient, scalable, and powerful computing solutions has never been more pressing. Lightmatter is at the forefront of this transition, with its Passage technology offering a tangible solution to the performance bottlenecks plaguing traditional electronic systems.

With the $400 million Series D fundraise, the company is well-positioned to capitalise on the massive demand for AI supercomputing infrastructure. Investors and experts alike are watching closely as Lightmatter prepares for the mass deployment of its photonic engine, which is set to reshape the landscape of data centers for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.

As the world’s first 3D-stacked photonics engine, Passage can connect thousands, even millions, of processors at the speed of light, transforming the performance and energy efficiency of extreme-scale data centers. This positions Lightmatter as a critical player in the next wave of AI innovation, as more companies look to photonic technologies to power their infrastructure.