PicoJool raises $27.5 million to commercialize optical links for AI clusters

PicoJool raised $27.5 million in a Series A round led by Socratic Partners, bringing its total funding to $39.5 million. The startup plans to use the money to expand its teams in the United States and Taiwan, qualify products with customers and prepare its 200G laser component for mass production with foundry partners. PicoJool develops chips and modules that send data as light through optical cables between processors in AI clusters. It says this approach can increase bandwidth while reducing the energy needed to move data. The products are still moving through customer qualification and production preparation.