Lightmatter, a pioneer in photonic supercomputing, has secured $400 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its valuation to $4.4 billion. This round, led by new investors advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., saw participation from existing investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company and GV (Google Ventures).
With this funding, Lightmatter aims to deploy its photonic engine, Passage™, in partner data centers, accelerating the scalability needed for continued AI innovation.
Lightmatter’s CEO and co-founder, Nick Harris, emphasized that the company is not just improving AI infrastructure but reinventing it. Passage, the world’s fastest photonic engine, overcomes critical bottlenecks in AI computing by leveraging 3D-stacked photonic chips to handle data movement.
This increases bandwidth and performance while reducing power consumption, addressing the limitations of traditional electronic interconnects as AI models expand.
The Series D funding comes as Lightmatter experiences rapid growth, including opening a new office in Toronto and adding key leadership figures, such as CFO Simona Jankowski, to its team.
The company’s Passage engine promises to be a key driver in scaling next-generation AI models, further positioning Lightmatter as a leader in data center photonics.
