Amidst the rising energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, Staera Semiconductor has emerged from stealth mode with a promising solution: Lightwire technology. The company, formerly known as New Silicon Corporation (NSC), is poised to revolutionize AI data transfer by integrating optical connections within silicon chips. This innovation recently garnered Staera a significant pre-seed investment of $4.6 million, led by Openspace Capital, with participation from SGInnovate, Black Kite Capital, 28 Holdings, In Group, and Decimus Technologies.
The central challenge in AI infrastructure today lies in the limitations of conventional electrical connections. Copper wiring struggles to maintain performance over the distances required for chip-to-chip communication, hampering data transfer as AI systems demand ever-increasing volumes of data movement. Staera’s Lightwire technology seeks to address this by replacing copper links with optical connections generated within the chip itself, leveraging light for data transfer.
This approach not only aligns with the growing trend of integrating optical connections in AI hardware but also aims at enhancing energy efficiency. Staera claims that Lightwire could use less than one-tenth of the energy currently consumed by existing optical links, operating at less than 50 watts for a transfer rate of 24 terabytes per second. This is a significant improvement over the nearly one kilowatt required by current co-packaged optics, marking a crucial advancement as the International Energy Agency projects a sharp increase in data center electricity demand by 2030.
Staera’s technology is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing semiconductor fabrication processes, allowing for optical connections to be manufactured within commercial silicon wafers. The company has been successfully integrating Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs into silicon chips since 2016, reporting high manufacturing yields of 98 to 99 percent. This established capability underscores the feasibility of their approach within the current production landscape.
Looking ahead, Staera plans to use the recent funding to transition Lightwire from research and development to commercial deployment. CEO Dr. Andrew Kim emphasized the importance of strengthening their US team and building partnerships with customers and supply chain partners, with a target commercial release set for 2030. Staera has already gained industry recognition, winning the 3rd ECTC Start-up Competition in May 2026 and securing a runner-up position at the 2026 Lam Capital Venture Competition.
Openspace Capital’s Co-Founder Hian Goh expressed optimism about Staera’s integrated optical approach, highlighting its potential to drive scalable and energy-efficient advancements in AI systems. As the demand for efficient data-transfer solutions grows, Staera’s Lightwire technology positions the company at the forefront of this transformative shift in AI infrastructure.
About Staera Semiconductor
Staera Semiconductor designs the technology that lets modern hardware scale, by carrying data on light instead of electricity. Its LED-based optical interconnect is fabricated inside a single chip, giving AI compute systems the density to move data from millimeters to meters without trading off size, energy or performance. Staera began as a spin-off from the Low Energy Electronic Systems (LEES) interdisciplinary research group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s first research centre outside the United States and its largest international research endeavour.
For more information, visit https://www.staera.ai.
Amisha Shettigar
Blue Totem Communications
[email protected]
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