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Xscape Photonics

Category: AI Chips / Semiconductors

A silicon photonics startup developing multi-wavelength laser technology to solve bandwidth and power bottlenecks in AI data center fabrics. Xscape Photonics was founded in 2022. The company is led by Vivek Raghunathan. Based in Santa Clara, USA. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $94.0M. Latest round: Growth round ($37.0M, Mar 2025). Key investors include Addition, IAG Capital Partners, NVIDIA, Cisco Investments, Fathom Fund, Altair.

Founded
2022
Headquarters
Santa Clara, USA
Team size
11-50
Total funding
$94.0M

Value proposition

Enables 10x higher bandwidth density and significant power reduction by integrating hundreds of programmable wavelengths onto a single photonic chip, overcoming the 'memory wall' in AI clusters.

Products and solutions

ChromX™ Platform: A programmable multi-wavelength silicon photonics platform for custom AI fabrics., FalconX™: The industry's first 8-wavelength redundant external laser (ELSFP) pluggable module., EagleX™: A laser evaluation kit designed for the ChromX platform to facilitate customer integration., CombX™: Proprietary programmable laser source technology based on optical frequency combs.

Unique value

Utilizes optical frequency combs to generate hundreds of 'colors' (wavelengths) of light on a single chip, whereas traditional data center optics are typically limited to 4 or 8 wavelengths.

Target customer

Hyperscale data center operators (e.g., AWS, Meta, Google), AI chipmakers (GPU/ASIC manufacturers), and networking equipment OEMs.

Industries served

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cloud Infrastructure, High-Performance Computing (HPC), Semiconductors

Technology advantage

Features monolithic integration with standard CMOS processes through a strategic partnership with Tower Semiconductor, allowing for high-volume, low-cost manufacturing. Strategic backing from NVIDIA and Cisco provides a direct path into the AI hardware supply chain.

How they differentiate

Xscape Photonics differentiates through its 'ChromX' platform, which utilizes optical frequency combs to generate hundreds of programmable wavelengths (colors) on a single silicon chip. Unlike competitors who often rely on 4 or 8 wavelength external laser sources, Xscape's technology provides 10x higher bandwidth density and significantly lower power consumption by integrating the laser source directly into the fabric.

Main competitors

Ayar Labs, Celestial AI, Quintessent, Lightmatter

Key partnerships

NVIDIA (Strategic Investor & AI Systems Partner), Cisco Investments (Strategic Investor & Networking Partner), Tower Semiconductor (Foundry partner for the PH18 silicon photonics platform), Columbia University (Academic origin and IP source)

Notable customers

Tower Semiconductor (Foundry Partner), Hyperscale Data Center Operators (Targeted), AI Chip Manufacturers (Targeted)

Major milestones

Spin-out from Columbia University research labs in 2022, Successful tape-out of the ChromX™ multi-wavelength platform, Closed $44M Series A led by IAG Capital Partners in Oct 2024, Secured strategic backing from NVIDIA and Cisco Investments, Raised $37M Series A extension in March 2026 led by Addition; launched FalconX 8-wavelength laser module

Growth metrics

Transitioned from R&D spin-out to commercial scaling; secured strategic investment from the two largest networking and AI chip companies (Cisco and NVIDIA).

Market positioning

High-performance AI infrastructure component provider and silicon photonics platform challenger.

Geographic focus

North America (Silicon Valley), with a global focus on Hyperscale data centers in Asia and Europe.

Patents and IP

Holds 8+ registered patents (including exclusive licenses from Columbia University) covering multi-wavelength silicon photonics, micro-resonators, and high-bandwidth SerDes architectures.

About Vivek Raghunathan

Vivek Raghunathan has over 18 years of experience in silicon photonics and semiconductor technology. Prior to co-founding Xscape Photonics, he served as a Senior Principal Engineer and Product Architect at Broadcom, where he led integrated silicon photonics programs. He was also a Principal Engineer at Rockley Photonics and spent a decade at Intel Corporation, where he led the commercialization of the industry's first silicon-photonics-based transceivers.

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