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Celestial AI Secures $250 Million to Enhance AI Chip Connectivity

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Silicon Valley-based startup Celestial AI has raised an additional $250 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to $515 million. The company aims to accelerate AI computing by leveraging photonics—a technology that uses light instead of electrical signals—to enhance the speed of data transfer between AI processing and memory chips.

Memory bandwidth, which determines the efficiency of AI systems, is a crucial factor in chip performance and a key consideration in U.S. government export controls aimed at limiting China’s AI capabilities. Currently, Nvidia dominates this space with its proprietary NVLink and NVSwitch technologies, prompting a surge in investments to develop alternative solutions. Celestial AI’s competitors, Lightmatter and Ayar Labs, have raised $850 million and $370 million, respectively, in similar efforts.

Celestial AI is backed by AMD Ventures, the investment arm of Nvidia’s competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The company is working on a “photonic fabric” that acts as a high-speed bridge between multiple chips. According to CEO Dave Lazovsky, the technology improves efficiency by reducing energy consumption and latency while saving valuable chip space.

“There are no good answers outside of Nvidia,” Lazovsky said in an interview at Celestial AI’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. “What we’ve created with photonic fabric achieves similar functionality but with superior energy efficiency and lower latency.”

The funding round was led by Fidelity Management & Research and included BlackRock, Maverick Capital, Tiger Global Management, and former Cadence Design Systems CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Existing investors such as AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Singapore’s state investor Temasek, and Porsche Automobil Holding also participated.

China to Launch National Venture Capital Fund to Support Tech Startups

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China is set to establish a government-backed national venture capital guidance fund, which aims to mobilize 1 trillion yuan ($138.01 billion) from social capital to support technology startups. The fund will primarily focus on “hard technology” sectors, such as semiconductors, renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, and hydrogen energy storage, according to Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

This new investment vehicle will be structured as a public-private partnership, and it is designed to maintain long-term investment cycles, demonstrating greater risk tolerance. The goal is to support early-stage technology enterprises through market-based methods, allowing for greater flexibility and innovation.

The announcement came a day after Premier Li Qiang told lawmakers that China aims to sustain economic growth at approximately 5% this year, despite challenges posed by tariff pressures. As part of broader efforts to foster technological breakthroughs and enhance self-reliance, China also stated it would bolster support for AI application and venture capital investment.

The fund will prioritize cutting-edge technologies like AI and quantum computing, alongside energy innovations such as hydrogen energy storage. It will focus on investing in seed-stage and startup companies, leveraging market-oriented approaches to drive growth in these strategic areas, as reported by state media CCTV.

Defense Tech Startup Epirus Raises $250 Million to Scale Anti-Drone Weapons

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Epirus, a defense technology startup, has raised $250 million in its Series D funding round to scale up the production of its anti-drone weapons. The company did not disclose its valuation for this round, though it was previously valued at $1.35 billion during its Series C funding, which raised $200 million.

The timing of this funding comes amid a surge in demand for defense technologies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. Epirus secured a $66 million contract in 2023 to supply its flagship anti-drone system, Leonidas, to the U.S. Army.

Based in Torrance, California, Epirus specializes in developing weapons capable of destroying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using advanced technologies like lasers and microwaves.

The oversubscribed round was co-led by venture capital firm 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners LP, with participation from General Dynamics Land Systems, a division of U.S. defense giant General Dynamics. This funding brings Epirus’ total raised capital to over $550 million.

Epirus plans to use the funds to expand into international and commercial markets, strengthen its supply chain, and grow its workforce. The company will also open a new simulation center in Oklahoma to train soldiers in counter-drone warfare.