The photonic computing technology spinout of MIT has now pocketed $113m in funding altogether.
Lightmatter, a US-based photonic computing technology developer spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has received $80m in a series B round led by Viking Global Investors.
Technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV unit, enterprise technology producer Hewlett Packard Enterprise and aerospace and defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin also took part, as did Matrix Partners, SIP Global Partners, Spark Capital and unnamed additional investors.
Founded in 2017, Lightmatter has developed a new type of high-performance computer processing chip which uses photons instead of electrons. Its chips are designed for use in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The spinout’s products include Passage, a wafer-scale photonic interconnect which enables computer chips to communicate at high speeds, and Envise, a general-purpose photonic AI accelerator. It is also working on what it claims is the world’s first photonic computer: Mars.
Nick Harris, co-founder and chief executive of Lightmatter, said: “Funds will be used…
