Celestial AI Secures $250 Million to Advance Photonic Fabric AI Infrastructure

Celestial AI, a developer of optical interconnect technology for AI computing, has raised $250 million in a Series C funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, bringing its total capital raised to over $515 million.

The new round also included investments from BlackRock, Maverick Silicon, Tiger Global Management, Lip-Bu Tan, and existing backers such as AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Temasek, Xora Innovation, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, and The Engine Ventures.

Celestial AI specializes in optical interconnect technology for artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure. Optical interconnect technology replaces traditional electrical connections with light-based data transmission, using photonics to enable high-bandwidth, low-latency communication between AI processors. This approach reduces power consumption and heat generation while improving data transfer efficiency, making it particularly benefic   ial for hyperscale data centers and AI workloads that require rapid movement of large datasets.

Celestial AI’s core product, branded as Photonic Fabric, is an optical interconnect platform that enhances AI computing performance by enabling seamless networking across processors, servers, and data center racks. The company offers a suite of products, including connectivity, switching, and packaging technologies, which support AI processors, custom silicon developers, and data center operators in optimizing their infrastructure for large-scale AI applications.

Santa Clara-headquartered Celestial AI was founded in 2020 by David Lazovsky. “With the emergence of complex reasoning models and agentic AI, the requirements on AI infrastructure are compounding,” said Mr. Lazovsky. “Cluster sizes must scale from a few AI processors in a server to tens of processors in a single rack and thousands of processors across multiple racks, all while relying on high-bandwidth, low-latency network connectivity to handle massive data transfers between processors. Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric is the only technology platform capable of meeting these critical demands while setting new standards for bandwidth, latency, energy efficiency, and total cost of ownership. We are excited to work with top global investors who bring the capital and commitment to support our long-term mission of revolutionizing AI infrastructure with our Photonic Fabric.”

“Amid the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, Celestial AI is uniquely positioned to meet the soaring demands of data center infrastructure with its disruptive Photonic Fabric technology,” said Tony Kim, the head of the fundamental equities technology group at BlackRock.

Capital from the new funding round will be used by Celestial AI to increase its manufacturing capacity and ensure that its production processes meet industry standards.

Celestial AI was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Santa Clara.