Hyderabad : LightSpeed Photonics, a deep tech startup pioneering next-generation optical interconnects for data centers powering AI and High‑Performance Computing (HPC), has raised US $6.5 million in a Pre-Series A round, led by pi Ventures. Other investors participating in this round include 500 Global, Indian Accelerator and returning investors – 8X Ventures & Java Capital and Angels from Bay Area. With this, the company’s total funding stands at approximately $8.5 million, including grants.
Founded in 2021 by Rohin Y and Ramana Pamidighantam, LightSpeed Photonics aims to redefine data movement in AI-driven systems through solderable, compact, energy-efficient and optical interconnect. The company’s breakthrough technology with short wavelength laser data transfer, will deliver up to 4× faster speeds, 2× lower power consumption, and a 20× smaller footprint. LightSpeed’s innovations are designed to serve high-growth sectors such as AI and high-performance computing (HPC), near-edge/on-prem computing, telecommunications (including 5G), aerospace, satellite, advanced electronics manufacturing and Industry 4.0.
Optical interconnects are the future of data centers, with the global market projected to hit $35.97 billion by 2030. This growth is largely driven by the increasing demands of AI-driven workloads, which are quickly making traditional pluggable transceivers a critical bottleneck. While co-packaged silicon photonics processors is one approach, it is often expensive and requires changing the complete chip package. LightSpeed’s patented Near-Packaged Optical technology, offers datacenter OEM/ODMs & EMS providers a solution that is seamless to integrate with existing architectures and is significantly more efficient, ensuring enhanced reliability and a faster time-to-market.
Our mission is to break through the data bottlenecks that limit the scale of AI and advanced computing,” said Rohin Y, Founder and CEO, LightSpeed Photonics. “AI workloads are driving exponential data growth, and existing interconnect solutions simply cannot keep up. Our technology bridges that gap by enabling faster, denser, and more energy-efficient data links without requiring costly system redesigns. This funding allows us to accelerate time to market and scale our collaborations with partners worldwide.”
Manish Singhal, Founding Partner at pi Ventures, said, “LightSpeed’s high speed optical interconnect product family is engineered to address a major hurdle of data movement in large-scale AI and cloud computing, by delivering significantly faster data transfer and at the same time drastically reducing energy consumption. Their innovation allows system upgrades without redesigning entire architectures – a game-changer for hyperscale data infrastructure. We’re excited to back a deep tech team that’s solving a global-scale infrastructure challenge from India.”
Ramana, Co-Founder and CTO said, “VCSEL*” based optical interconnects are dominant with more than 50% share in data centers due to lower energy consumption and lower cost. These components, when packaged as low footprint solderable components, provide an opportunity to scale up the data multiple fold, simplify the PCB layout, reduce the energy consumption and GPU temperature. Our solution offers power efficiency, compact foot print, high data rate and low manufacturing and operation cost thereby improving the overall lifetime and reliability.
Looking ahead, LightSpeed Photonics aims to set up an R&D facility for quick turn around time for pilots. This round will strengthen joint development activities with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) providers, and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) partners, and commercialize the company’s product line through pilot executions for upcoming datacenter infrastructure. Their efforts align with India’s Semicon Mission to build a self-reliant value chain and will significantly advance the semiconductor ecosystem in the country through indigenous advanced Photonics IP. With over 10 granted patents and 20 more filed, LightSpeed Photonics is at the forefront of developing optical interconnects that combine speed, scalability, manufacturability and sustainability.
