U.S. silicon photonics chip startup Ayar Labs gets AI funding boost

FILE PHOTO: A view of a remote light source by Ayar Labs called the SuperNova, in Santa Clara, California, U.S., in an undated picture taken in April 2022. Ayar Labs/Handout via REUTERS

OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - Silicon Valley chip startup Ayar Labs raised another $25 million after its latest funding round closed, as demand has increased for faster, more energy-efficient computing for artificial intelligence applications, the company said on Wednesday.

The funding will be used to accelerate commercialization of Ayar Labs' silicon photonics technology, which uses light instead of electricity to transfer data between chips or servers, it added.