Capital · United States

Optical switching startup Salience Labs raises $125m with AMD and Intel participating in round

Credited to Data Center Dynamics · datacenterdynamics.com · 3h ago

Photograph · Data Center Dynamics

Series B raise will support continued development and deployment of optical circuit switching technology

Salience Labs has raised $125 million in a Series B funding round to support the development of photonic chips for AI data center connectivity.

The round was led by Bullhound Capital and saw participation from AMD Ventures and Intel Capital, in addition to SBI Group, Hudson River Trading, and British Business Bank.

Existing investors, including Applied Ventures LLC, Oxford Science Enterprises, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Silicon Catalyst Ventures, also participated in the Series B raise.

In a statement, Salience Labs said the funding would allow it to accelerate the deployment of its optical circuit switching (OCS) technology, scale its volume manufacturing operations and expand its US presence in Silicon Valley.

Founded in 2021, the Oxford, UK-based company focuses on the development of photonic solutions to support AI data center connectivity. Salience Labs debuted its all-optical 32-port switch in March 2026 and, in September, unveiled the 64-port version, an industry first for silicon photonics OCS technology.

Looking ahead, the startup is hoping to scale its technology even further and ultimately offer 128- and 256-port configurations.

Earlier this month, DCD’s sister publication SDxCentral visited Salience’s facility in Oxfordshire ahead of the company’s formal announcement of its raise.

Speaking to the publication, Salience Labs’ co-founder and CEO, Vaysh Kewada, said: “There is a fundamental network limitation on the size of the scale-up domain. This is partly what is driving that deployment of optical connectivity, and at the same time, customers really need to get a good bang for the buck out of this expensive capex. What matters is utilization and latency.”

“When you look at optical switch companies, yes, there's a growing number, but if you look at who has actually shown silicon, working silicon, it becomes a dwindling number and a handful, especially for a market that large. And this is where we're playing in a very interesting space.”

You can read about the visit and the full interview with Kewada here.

CapitalUnited States

EverWind To Build Nova Scotia Data Center, Lease to AI Developer

Credited to Bloomberg$ · bloomberg.com4h ago

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EverWind Fuels Co. has announced more than C$10 billion ($7.1 billion) for a data center campus and wind generation infrastructure in Nova Scotia, calling it the largest privately funded investment in the province’s history.

View the article · $Bloomberg

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Capital · United States

U.S. Foundry Race Intensifies Among Global Firms

Credited to Business Korea · businesskorea.co.kr · Just now

Samsung’s Taylor Facility Faces Sharper Competition as Intel and TSMC Expand Their US Manufacturing Plans While TSMC Eyes Texas, GF Is Backed by Japanese Funds

The movement of global companies seeking to expand their foundry production facilities in the United States is accelerating. While TSMC, the world’s number one, is reviewing a new investment in Texas, the U.S.-based GlobalFoundries (GF) is building a plant in New York with Japanese funds. This is the result of local production demands from U.S. clients combined with the U.S. government’s demands for investment from allied nations. With Samsung Electronics also preparing to operate its Taylor plant in Texas, competition to secure clients in the U.S. is expected to become even fiercer in the future.

According to the industry on Oct. 16, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei stated during the third-quarter earnings conference call on Oct. 15 that major U.S. clients are requesting an expansion of local semiconductor production capacity, noting, “We have already dispatched a team to Texas and conducted an evaluation.” Although there are differences of opinion on the plant operation method, they are also in discussions with “Terafab,” a semiconductor plant promoted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The investment scale and timing have not been determined.

TSMC is already investing a total of $265 billion in Arizona to expand its production facilities. It is establishing a base ranging from the production of semiconductor wafers for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) to advanced packaging and research and development. The second plant is under construction and is planned to begin mass production in the third quarter of next year. U.S. clients are requesting domestic investments, citing reasons such as supply chain diversification. As advanced semiconductor production is concentrated in Taiwan, the objective is to reduce geopolitical risks caused by the U.S.-China conflict and secure a stable production volume.

Amidst this landscape, the methods of investing in semiconductor infrastructure within the U.S. are also diversifying. On Oct. 14 (local tine), U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce will inject up to $21 billion from Japan’s investment funds in the U.S. into two semiconductor plants being built in Malta, New York. This marks the first time that 100% Japanese funds are directly injected into U.S. semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. The first plant is planned to begin construction this year and operate in 2029, and the decision on whether to build the second plant will be determined by the end of 2028.

In exchange for providing the funds, Japan will jointly own the plants with the US and can secure supply opportunities for its domestic semiconductor equipment companies, as well as a procurement base for semiconductors produced by GlobalFoundries (GF). GF reduces its initial investment burden amounting to tens of trillions of won while gaining profits from providing technology and operating the plants for at least 20 years. The U.S. government also plans to secure an additional 4% stake in GF through a separate agreement, increasing its holding to about 7%. In addition to this, Intel is currently building two advanced semiconductor plants in Ohio with the goal of operating them between 2030 and 2031.

As competition for U.S. production bases intensifies, Samsung Electronics’ strategy to secure additional clients for its Taylor plant is also expected to become increasingly important. In the case of GF, it focuses on mature processes, which differ from the main processes of the Taylor plant, but if TSMC expands its production base to Texas, the pressure Samsung Electronics faces in the competition to win orders from U.S. clients could also increase.

Samsung Electronics is fostering the first Taylor plant as a core base for advanced foundry. The first Taylor plant has currently begun test production on some production lines and is preparing for operation within the year. The second Taylor plant is also planned to begin construction at the end of this year with the goal of mass production in 2030.

The strategy for the Samsung Electronics Taylor plant is to expand its client base in the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) sectors, using its supply to Tesla as a stepping stone, and to strengthen its competitiveness in the 2-nanometer process. In July last year, it won an order for artificial intelligence (AI) chips worth 23 trillion won (about $17.28 billion) from Tesla. Moving forward, securing stable mass production and yield, as well as whether additional long-term supply contracts are signed, are expected to become variables in the U.S. foundry market.

The U.S. demands for expanding local semiconductor production could extend beyond the foundry sector into the memory sector. Consequently, there is a possibility that both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will face pressure surrounding the expansion of production facilities in the U.S. and the schedules for plant completion and operation.