Celestial AI Raises $250 Million for Optical Interconnect Technology
Celestial AI Inc., based in Santa Clara, California, has successfully raised $250 million in funding, achieving a valuation of $2.5 billion. This financing round, led by Fidelity Management & Research, marks a significant step in the company’s advancement of its optical technology designed for linking chip modules.
This latest funding comes just a year after a previous raise of $175 million, highlighting the growing investor confidence in Celestial AI’s innovative approach to improving data transfer speeds in processors.
Modern processors often consist of multiple chiplets connected via traditional electronic interconnects, which can limit performance. Celestial AI’s solution, known as Photonic Fabric, intends to replace electrical signals with light, allowing for much faster data transfer between chiplets. Photons can travel more efficiently over fiber-optic links compared to electrons through copper, significantly increasing processing capabilities.
Celestial AI explains that its technology is especially beneficial for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, which tend to create more heat and can face challenges in standard interposer materials. Photonic Fabric maintains operational efficiency even at elevated temperatures, mitigating potential technical issues.
In addition to enhancing processing speeds, the new optical interconnect is expected to lower hardware costs. Traditionally, expanding high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity for AI applications requires purchasing additional graphic cards. Celestial AI’s solution allows for remote HBM connections, making it feasible to increase memory without the need for more graphics cards.
Conventional distance limitations restrict effective HBM functionality to being immediately adjacent to AI processors. However, Celestial AI claims that its technology can transmit data between chips located over 160 feet away, promising die-to-die bandwidth rates as high as 14.4 terabits per second.
In a further expansion of its product offerings, Celestial AI will also launch a network switch utilizing a system-in-a-package (SiP) design that facilitates data exchange among multiple processors.
David Lazovsky, CEO of Celestial AI, emphasized the growing demands on AI infrastructure, stating, ‘Cluster sizes must scale from a few AI processors in a server to tens of processors in a single rack and thousands across multiple racks, all while relying on high-bandwidth, low-latency network connectivity.’
With these funding resources, Celestial AI plans to commercialize its interconnect technology further and initiate mass production of Photonic Fabric by 2027.
Image: Celestial AI
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