CScale comes out of stealth with $145m, with Nvidia and Intel Capital among its backers, to build optical links for AI racks

CScale, an optical-interconnect start-up based in Palo Alto, came out of stealth on 30 September with a $145m Series C. Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners and Premji Invest co-led the round, Sutter Hill Ventures and Maverick Silicon took part, and Nvidia and Intel Capital joined as its first strategic investors. CScale says it has raised $188m in total. No valuation was given.

The company is building an integrated optical light engine for AI scale-up systems: the large groups of accelerators wired together to work as one computer. In the release, chief executive Martin Lund argues that as those groups extend across dozens of racks, optical links become essential, and that easier part replacement improves serviceability but not continuity. CScale says it is designing so that a component failure is contained instead of stopping the work. His summary: “Lasers will fail. Compute shouldn't.”

Two chip makers that compete with each other are in the same round, as strategic investors rather than customers; the release names no customer and no shipment date.

The figures are the company's own, from its release distributed by Business Wire. CScale adds to a run of AI hardware rounds covered here in the past two weeks, including SiMa.ai's $150m on 28 September and Efficient Computer's more than $97m yesterday.

• Claimed A $145m Series C co-led by Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners and Premji Invest; $188m raised in total. CScale, via Business Wire
• Confirmed Nvidia and Intel Capital joined as CScale's first strategic investors. CScale, via Business Wire