27 August 2025
OpenLight, a startup spun off from Synopsys, is transforming how data moves in AI-powered data centers by pioneering integrated photonics. The company has successfully secured $34 million in Series A funding, paving the way for scalable, energy-efficient optical interconnects essential for next-generation computing infrastructure.
“Photonics is revolutionizing data center performance by replacing traditional electronic interconnects with light-based systems. Unlike electrons, which face resistance and generate heat, photons travel at near light speed through optical fibers, enabling ultra-fast data transfer with significantly higher bandwidth. This shift reduces latency, accelerates chip-to-chip and server-to-server communication, and eliminates data bottlenecks that limit AI and cloud workloads.
Energy efficiency is another major advantage. Photonics consumes less power and produces less heat, reducing cooling costs and making large-scale AI data centers more sustainable. It also improves reliability, as optical signals experience lower loss over distance compared to copper wiring, ensuring better data integrity.
As AI and high-performance computing demand explosive data movement, photonics offers the scalability, speed, and energy savings that traditional electronics cannot. In short, photonics makes data centers faster, cooler, and more capable—paving the way for the next generation of AI-driven innovation.”
OpenLight’s Series A funding marks its shift from a Synopsys subsidiary to a fast-paced, venture-backed innovator. Co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group, the oversubscribed round also drew investment from firms like Mayfield, Juniper Networks (now part of HPE), Lam Capital, New Legacy Ventures, and K2 Access (PR Newswire).
This capital infusion will supercharge OpenLight’s Process Design Kit (PDK)—a toolset built on heterogeneously integrated indium phosphide and silicon photonics. The PDK offers a rich library of passive and active components such as lasers, modulators, amplifiers, and detectors, all validated by the photonics foundry Tower Semiconductor. This means customers can confidently design production-ready Photonic Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (PASICs) from day one.
With more than 360 patents and adoption by over 20 companies, OpenLight is already making waves across high-demand sectors—from AI data centers to telecom, automotive and industrial sensing, IoT, healthcare, and quantum computing.
Looking ahead, the startup plans to enhance its PDK portfolio with advanced offerings like a 400 Gb/s modulator, on-chip indium phosphide lasers, and turnkey reference PICs delivering 1.6 Tb/s and 3.2 Tb/s throughput. The next 12 months will also see team expansion to drive volume production support and expedite time-to-market for customers.
“Together with our deep-industry investors, we’re poised to advance the photonics frontier faster than ever,” said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. He emphasized that the funding will accelerate R\&D and operational scaling, reinforcing their role at the leading edge of the photonics transformation.
Investor Phil Inagaki of Xora stressed that III-V heterogeneous integration is key to photonics’ growth. Capricorn’s Dipender Saluja echoed the sentiment, noting that OpenLight’s integration addresses performance, cost, and reliability—three critical metrics for optical interconnects in AI architectures.
Source: Press release via PR Newswire (distributed through Press Release Hub) (PR Newswire, pressreleasehub.pa.media
