Xscape Photonics has raised $37 million in an extension round, bringing its total Series A funding to $81 million and doubling its valuation. The round was led by Addition, with participation from existing investors including IAG Capital Partners and Nvidia. The startup has launched FalconX, its first product using silicon photonics technology to transmit data via lasers rather than copper wires. The device can emit eight wavelengths of light simultaneously, enabling multi-terabits-per-second bandwidth to connect thousands of GPUs in AI data centres. Chief executive Vivek Raghunathan said existing copper interconnects have become a major bottleneck in AI performance, forcing GPUs to sit idle whilst waiting for data. Xscape plans to scale its technology to handle 128 wavelengths and has already demonstrated a 16-wavelength prototype with Tower Semiconductor.

Xscape Photonics is developing a multi-color laser platform, ChromX, based on its proprietary CombX technology, a programmable laser source device that allows end users - especially those already designing with Tower's PH18 platform - to easily integrate high-performance laser sources, significantly reducing packaging complexity and component count.