Lightmatter, a recognized leader in photonic interconnect solutions for artificial intelligence, has announced a strategic partnership with Global Unichip Corp. (GUC), an advanced ASIC design powerhouse and a critical enabler of hyperscaler AI infrastructure. Together, the two companies aim to bring commercial Passage 3D Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) solutions to market, addressing one of the most pressing challenges in large-scale AI and high-performance computing (HPC): connectivity bottlenecks.
Through this collaboration, Lightmatter’s breakthrough Passage photonic interconnect technology will be tightly integrated with GUC’s end-to-end ASIC design services and advanced packaging expertise. As a result, the joint solution is purpose-built to help hyperscalers and large data center operators scale next-generation AI workloads more efficiently, while also reducing energy consumption and performance constraints that plague traditional electrical signaling.
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As AI models continue to grow in size and complexity, conventional architectures are reaching their limits. Commenting on this industry inflection point, Nick Harris, founder and CEO of Lightmatter, emphasized the fundamental shift underway in computing architectures.
“The fundamental architecture of computers is changing. The world has hit a wall in per silicon area performance, the network is becoming the computer, and that network needs to run on light. GUC has unmatched ASIC engineering execution in this rapidly-evolving landscape. Pairing their silicon expertise with our photonic interconnects provides the industry with a concrete path to escape the energy and performance traps of legacy signaling, enabling the massive scale-up required for tomorrow’s intelligence,” said Nick Harris, founder and CEO of Lightmatter.
Redefining AI Interconnect Performance
At the core of this partnership lies the Passage platform, a silicon photonics-based interconnect designed to dramatically improve bandwidth density and power efficiency for chip-to-chip communication. By leveraging GUC’s advanced node chiplet methodologies and sophisticated packaging workflows, the integrated solution enables faster and more efficient data movement between XPUs and network switches.
Unlike existing approaches that are limited by the physical I/O “shoreline” of a chip, Passage overcomes these inherent constraints. Consequently, it enables higher bandwidth and greater radix per optical engine, unlocking new levels of scalability. Moreover, by extending AI scale-up domains across multiple racks, the platform significantly enhances training speed and token throughput two critical metrics for frontier foundation models.
From GUC’s perspective, the partnership strengthens its ability to deliver competitive, future-ready solutions for hyperscale customers. Igor Elkanovich, CTO of GUC, highlighted the importance of combining proven technologies with deep engineering expertise.
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“To enable our hyperscale customers to deliver the most competitive services, we need partners with proven, superior technology,” said Igor Elkanovich, CTO of GUC. “Integrating Lightmatter’s Passage CPO platform into our world-class ASIC designs allows us to bring to market a joint solution that fundamentally redefines AI interconnect. Our combined expertise solves complex challenges architectural, thermal, mechanical, and signal integrity, and ensures that customers receive a robust, power-efficient, and scalable CPO platform that accelerates their path to large-scale AI deployment.”
Analyst View: A Maturing AI Supply Chain
Industry analysts see this collaboration as a strong signal that optical interconnects are becoming essential, not optional, for hyperscale AI growth. Dr. Wei-Chung Lo, Deputy General Director at Electronic & Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories (EOSL) of ITRI in Taiwan, underscored the broader market implications.
“Optical interconnect is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity for hyperscale AI to continue its exponential growth path,” said Dr. Wei-Chung Lo, Deputy General Director at Electronic & Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories (EOSL) of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan. “The combination of GUC’s extensive experience in custom AI silicon design for top-tier cloud providers and Lightmatter’s innovation signals to the market that the supply chain is maturing, providing a credible blueprint for hyperscalers to address the critical bandwidth and power constraints of the next generation of AI clusters.”
Overall, the Lightmatter-GUC partnership represents a meaningful step toward scalable, power-efficient AI infrastructure. By uniting photonics innovation with advanced ASIC and packaging expertise, the collaboration positions both companies to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of hyperscale AI and HPC deployments.
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