CScale Raises $145 Million for AI Optical Interconnects

CScale said it raised $145 million in a Series C financing, bringing its total funding to $188 million, to develop optical interconnect technology intended to keep artificial intelligence computing running when an optical link fails. The Silicon Valley startup emerged from stealth with backing from investors including Nvidia and Intel Capital, which joined as strategic investors, according to the company and funding reports. CScale is developing an integrated light engine that uses optical connections to link AI accelerators across data-center systems. The company says its design is intended to contain failures in optical links without interrupting the connected computing. That approach aims to address a reliability challenge as AI systems connect growing numbers of processors across multiple racks. The continuity benefit remains a company claim, and the reports provide no independent technical validation or test results. CScale has not disclosed how its system contains a failure, and chief executive Martin Lund declined to provide technical specifics in an interview. He described the approach as combining established technologies while retaining conventional fiber technology.