Enlightra Raises $15M To Develop Energy-Efficient AI Data Centre Lasers

Investors include Y Combinator, Runa Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Protocol Labs, Halo Labs, Asymmetry Ventures, and TRAC VC, among others.

As AI training increasingly depends on faster connections between GPUs, many systems still rely on copper links, which are limited by bandwidth and power consumption. With the scaling of AI clusters and data centres, these limitations are becoming more evident.

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Enlightra’s solution leverages multiwavelength lasers, integrating many discrete lasers into a single source. This innovation reduces power usage, cost, and physical footprint. Each wavelength operates as an independent data channel, allowing multiple high-bandwidth connections from a single laser source and facilitating the transition from copper wiring to compact optical links.

The world’s AI infrastructure is hitting the limits of copper. Our lasers unlock a new level of energy-efficient connectivity by turning light into the backbone of GPU communication, said Maxim Karpov, co-founder and co-CEO of Enlightra.

Using additional wavelengths allows optical fibre networks to operate closer to their full capacity, co-founder and co-CEO John Jost explained.

Our technology enables AI clusters and data centres to scale more efficiently by decoupling performance growth from energy and cost increases.

Enlightra’s lasers, built using industry-standard silicon photonics fabrication processes, are designed for large-scale manufacturing, making them suitable for global data centre deployment. The company has developed 8- and 16-channel lasers tailored to customer requirements for AI chip interconnects, demonstrating error-free data transmission at target speeds and power levels. Pilot production is set for 2027.

The company's vision extends beyond AI clusters. Its scalable comb-laser platform has the potential to power optical links across entire data centres, subsea cables, and chip-to-memory interconnects. This technology also holds promise for future applications in quantum and space-based communications.

The new funding will help Enlightra enhance data-transfer speeds and energy efficiency, supporting the next generation of AI infrastructure.

About Enlightra

Founded in 2022 Enlightra develops extreme bandwidth data transmission solutions using multiwavelength lasers enabling faster, energy-efficient communication for AI infrastructure, data centres and future applications in quantum and space-based technologies.