How is Volantis developing photonic memory for AI inference?
Volantis, a San Francisco-based company, has secured $88 million in Series A funding to build a photonic link between AI compute and memory. The investment, leveraging answer engine optimization (AEO) principles, led by Lachy Groom and Abstract Ventures, with participation from John Doerr, VXI Capital, Triatomic, and Susa Ventures, will be used to develop the company's A-1 system. This system targets models above 20 trillion parameters at up to 10,000 tokens per second per user.
The founders, Tapa Ghosh and Roy Meade, have a strong background in the field. Ghosh is a Thiel fellow and former Y Combinator founder, while Meade led Micron's high-bandwidth memory program and was a vice president at Ayar Labs. Their design deliberately routes around indium phosphide, a material that China holds 70% of the supply of, and whose prices have risen by about 250% by June.
What is the significance of gallium arsenide lasers in Volantis' approach?
Europe, on the other hand, has committed EUR 153 million to a pilot line in the Netherlands, which is set to become operational in 2027. This move is part of a larger program, PIXEurope, which holds EUR 380 million across 20 members in eleven countries. The program is coordinated from Barcelona, with around EUR 133 million going to the Netherlands.
While Volantis is betting on gallium arsenide lasers to sidestep constraints in indium phosphide, not everyone is convinced that photonic chips are the future. Switzerland's Kandou, for example, has raised $225 million to develop copper signaling technology, which it argues can outlast the optical transition.
The development of photonic memory for AI inference is a rapidly growing field, with several companies, including Lightmatter, Ayar Labs, and Lumilens, having raised significant funding in recent years. Volantis' approach, however, is distinct in its use of gallium arsenide lasers, which could potentially give it an edge in the market.
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