PicoJool raises $27.5 M Series A from Socratic Partners to build AI VCSEL data‑center interconnects (Mike Wheatley/SiliconANGLE)
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| Source: Techmeme | Original article
PicoJool, a Palo Alto‑based photonics startup, announced a $27.5 million Series A round led by Socratic Partners, with participation from Hudson River Trading. The capital will be used to scale the company’s 200‑gigabit vertical‑cavity surface‑emitting laser (VCSEL) products, micro‑VCSELs and associated optical modules that target the exploding bandwidth and power‑budget demands of hyperscale AI data centers.
The firm, founded by photonics veteran Al Yuen and backed by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, is positioning its VCSEL‑based interconnects as a low‑cost, energy‑efficient alternative to traditional copper and silicon‑photonic links. Its 200 G VCSELs boast a bandwidth exceeding 37 GHz, a specification that aligns with the trend of AI clusters adding more processors and moving ever larger data volumes between them. By moving the optical link from the semiconductor through the transceiver to the system level, PicoJool aims to reduce both latency and power draw—two critical constraints as AI training and inference workloads scale.
The raise comes at a time when the industry is grappling with the need for faster, greener connectivity. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Energy pledged $5.25 billion to upgrade the grid for AI datacenters, underscoring the broader push for infrastructure that can sustain AI’s energy appetite. PicoJool’s funding therefore adds a key piece to the emerging ecosystem of optical solutions that could help keep AI growth sustainable.
Watch for the start of sampling of the 200 G VCSELs in the coming weeks, and for announcements of early adopters among hyperscale cloud providers. Subsequent financing rounds or strategic partnerships could further accelerate the rollout of VCSEL‑based interconnects across the AI data‑center landscape.
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