Staera Semiconductor raises $4.6 million to build LED optical links into AI chips

Staera Semiconductor emerged from stealth and raised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding, the San Francisco company said. Openspace Capital led the round, with participation from SGInnovate, Black Kite Capital, 28 Holdings, In Group and Decimus Technologies.

Formerly called New Silicon Corporation, Staera is developing Lightwire, an optical interconnect built directly into silicon chips. The design combines silicon CMOS circuits, gallium nitride LED light sources and silicon nitride waveguides on one wafer using standard fabrication processes.

Staera says Lightwire is designed to use less than 0.2 picojoules per bit and support more than 600 links per millimeter of chip edge. The company will use the funding to advance the technology, expand its team and work with customers and suppliers ahead of a planned commercial release in 2030.