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Enlightra, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based deeptech startup building chip-scale multiwavelength lasers for future data transmission, raised a total of $15m in funding.

​Backers included Y Combinator, Runa Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Protocol Labs, Halo Labs, Asymmetry Ventures, and TRAC VC, among others.

The company intends to use the funds to develop and demonstrate its multi-color laser technology, which connects computing chips (GPUs, TPUs) in AI clusters faster and more efficiently than copper cables can.

Led by John Jost, and Maxim Karpov, Enlightra has developed laser technology to replace electrical data transmission with ultra-efficient optical communication, powered by its patented multicolor comb-laser platform. Each color functions as an independent data channel, creating dozens of high-bandwidth connections from one laser source.

Enlightra’s lasers can be produced at scale, and, according to the company, this opens the door to millions of units per year for global data center deployment.


With a 25-person team, Enlightra has designed and built 8- and 16-channel lasers meeting customer specifications for AI chip interconnects. The pilot production is slated for 2027.


The company has participated in Y Combinator (W22) and Intel Ignite (2023).


FinSMEs