Salience Labs raises $125M for optical AI switching

Salience Labs has raised $125 million in a Series B round led by Bullhound Capital, with participation from Intel Capital, AMD Ventures, SBI Group, Hudson River Trading, and the British Business Bank. The startup develops all-optical silicon photonics-based circuit-switching technology aimed at eliminating the electrical signal bottlenecks slowing AI data centers. At ECOC 2026 in September, it demonstrated the world's first 64-port all-optical photonic switch, with 128-port and 256-port versions in development. Funding will support volume manufacturing, market expansion, and higher-density switch R&D, targeting an optical circuit-switching market forecast to exceed $8 billion by decade's end.