According to startup Celestial AI, the latest funding round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Co., and new investors including BlackRock Inc., Maverick Capital, Tiger Global Management and Lip-Bu Tan participated.
The round was led by existing investors including AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Temasek and Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Celestial AI’s valuation has grown to more than $2.5 billion after the latest funding round, according to CEO David Lazowski. The startup has raised more than $515 million since its founding in 2020.
Celestial AI, based in Santa Clara, California, is facing other wealthy competitors trying to use light to speed up computing and reduce the power consumption of artificial intelligence. Late last year, startup Lightmatter Inc. raised $400 million, reaching a $4.4 billion valuation, and Ayar Labs Inc. became a unicorn after a $155 million funding round.
The amount of energy required to move data to and from a chip's processor, or brain, is a key reason why AI operations are so expensive. Companies have been trying for years to use light, which can move data faster and with less energy than electrons transmitted over copper wires.
Celestial AI has developed a silicon photonic device that allows various components, including AI processors and high-bandwidth memory chips, to “communicate” with each other directly using light. The company has developed a device that can operate at much higher temperatures than competitors, Lazowski said, allowing it to sit just below a power-hungry chip without overheating.
Source: Bloomberg
