Celestial AI announced it secured $250 million in Series C1 funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, increasing its total funding to over $515 million. The funding round included new investors such as BlackRock, Maverick Silicon, Tiger Global Management, and Lip-Bu Tan, alongside existing investors AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Temasek, Xora Innovation, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, and The Engine Ventures.
Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric optical interconnect technology addresses growing infrastructure demands in AI computing, enabling high-bandwidth, low-latency communication between processors from single-server setups to multi-rack installations. The company’s product line includes connectivity, switching, and packaging solutions that support scalable optical networks tailored for accelerated AI processing. The Photonic Fabric provides terabytes of low-latency bandwidth, supports in-network computing, and enhances high-speed, high-capacity memory capabilities.
The company plans to utilize the new capital to scale up and qualify its manufacturing processes, meeting customer demand through expanded partnerships across hyperscalers, AI processor developers, and silicon packaging specialists. Celestial AI’s technology aligns with existing industry-standard manufacturing and packaging procedures, facilitating broader adoption.
- $250 million Series C1 funding, total exceeding $515 million
- Photonic Fabric supports seamless scaling from servers to multiple racks
- Developing connectivity, switching, and packaging solutions for AI infrastructure
- Claims terabytes-per-second low-latency bandwidth
- Compatible with standard 2.5D manufacturing and packaging processes
“With the emergence of complex reasoning models and agentic AI, infrastructure requirements are increasing dramatically,” said David Lazovsky, CEO of Celestial AI. “Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric is uniquely capable of addressing these demands, setting new benchmarks for bandwidth, latency, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.”
- Founded in 2020, Celestial AI is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, specializing in optical interconnect technology to enhance AI infrastructure. The company’s leadership includes co-founder and CEO David Lazovsky, previously the founder and CEO of Intermolecular Inc. and a venture partner at Khosla Ventures; co-founder and COO Preet Virk, who has extensive semiconductor industry experience in operational and business development roles; and CTO Philip Winterbottom, whose background includes leadership roles in developing advanced computing systems. In October 2024, Celestial AI strengthened its technology portfolio by acquiring a significant silicon photonics patent collection from Rockley Photonics, expanding its intellectual property to over 200 global patents in optoelectronic systems-in-package, electro-absorption modulators, and optical switch technologies, critical for AI data center infrastructure.