Lightmatter and Global Unichip Corp. (GUC) have announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the commercialization of co-packaged optics (CPO) technology for hyperscale AI and high-performance computing environments. The collaboration brings together Lightmatter’s photonic interconnect innovation with GUC’s deep expertise in advanced ASIC design and packaging, addressing one of the most pressing challenges in modern AI infrastructure: scalable, energy-efficient connectivity.
Under the partnership, the companies will deliver commercial implementations of Lightmatter’s Passage™ 3D CPO platform, tightly integrated with GUC’s advanced chiplet design and packaging workflows. The joint solution is designed to remove the bandwidth and power limitations that increasingly constrain large-scale AI systems as models grow in size and complexity.
“The fundamental architecture of computers is changing. The world has hit a wall in per silicon area performance, the network is becoming the computer, and that network needs to run on light. GUC has unmatched ASIC engineering execution in this rapidly-evolving landscape. Pairing their silicon expertise with our photonic interconnects provides the industry with a concrete path to escape the energy and performance traps of legacy signaling, enabling the massive scale-up required for tomorrow’s intelligence,” said Nick Harris, founder and CEO of Lightmatter.
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At the core of the collaboration is Passage, Lightmatter’s silicon photonics-based interconnect platform. By delivering significantly higher bandwidth density and improved power efficiency, Passage enables faster chip-to-chip communication between XPUs and switches. This capability is increasingly critical as traditional electrical interconnects struggle with physical I/O constraints that limit scalability within AI clusters.
By extending the scale-up domain across multiple racks, the combined solution is expected to improve training efficiency and increase token throughput for large foundation models. This marks a step beyond current optical engines, which are restricted by chip “shoreline” limitations that cap achievable bandwidth.
“To enable our hyperscale customers to deliver the most competitive services, we need partners with proven, superior technology,” said Igor Elkanovich, CTO of GUC. “Integrating Lightmatter’s Passage CPO platform into our world-class ASIC designs allows us to bring to market a joint solution that fundamentally redefines AI interconnect. Our combined expertise solves complex challenges—architectural, thermal, mechanical, and signal integrity, and ensures that customers receive a robust, power-efficient, and scalable CPO platform that accelerates their path to large-scale AI deployment.”
Industry analysts view the partnership as a meaningful signal of maturity in the optical interconnect ecosystem. “Optical interconnect is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity for hyperscale AI to continue its exponential growth path,” said Dr. Wei-Chung Lo, Deputy General Director at EOSL of ITRI, Taiwan. “The combination of GUC’s extensive experience in custom AI silicon design for top-tier cloud providers and Lightmatter’s innovation signals to the market that the supply chain is maturing, providing a credible blueprint for hyperscalers to address the critical bandwidth and power constraints of the next generation of AI clusters.”