SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2024--
Ayar Labs, the leader in optical interconnect solutions for large-scale AI workloads, today announced it has secured $155 million in financing led by Advent Global Opportunities and Light Street Capital to break down the AI bottleneck of data movement with its optical I/O technology. This brings the company’s total funding to $370 million and raises the company’s valuation to above $1 billion.
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The strength of the round and caliber of investors, including participation from AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and NVIDIA, marks another key milestone as Ayar Labs prepares its optical solution for high volume manufacturing strategically aligned to customer roadmaps. Other new strategic and financial investors participating in the round include 3M Ventures and Autopilot. They join existing investors such as Applied Ventures LLC, Axial Partners, Boardman Bay Capital Management, GlobalFoundries, IAG Capital Partners, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Playground Global, and VentureTech Alliance.
“The leading GPU providers – AMD and NVIDIA – and semiconductor foundries – GlobalFoundries, Intel Foundry, and TSMC – combined with the backing of Advent, Light Street, and our other investors underscores the potential of our optical I/O technology to redefine the future of AI infrastructure,” said Mark Wade, CEO and co-founder of Ayar Labs. “We are incredibly fortunate to have the backing of Light Street’s deep expertise in technology-specific investments as well as Advent’s robust private and growth equity background in this funding round.”
AI infrastructure is projected to see more than $1 trillion in investments over the next decade, highlighting the critical need for solutions that eliminate bottlenecks created by traditional copper interconnects and pluggable optics.
Ayar Labs has developed the industry’s first in-package optical I/O solution to replace electrical I/O that is standards-based, commercial-ready, and optimized for AI training and inference. Optical I/O allows customers to maximize the compute efficiency and performance of their AI infrastructure, while reducing costs and power consumption, to dramatically improve profitability metrics for AI applications.
“We believe optical I/O is on the cusp of revolutionizing the future of AI infrastructure, and we recognize the significant growth potential of in-package optical interconnects,” said Jordan Katz, partner at Advent Global Opportunities, who will be joining Ayar Labs’ Board of Directors. “Our deep research into the interconnect market revealed that Ayar Labs is led by a world-class team, has industry-leading technology, and exciting engagements with Tier 1 customers. We believe that supporting Ayar Labs and its groundbreaking technology will offer transformative benefits to AI systems.”
“We are committed to fueling the growth of companies that lead technological innovation. With this significant capital infusion, Ayar Labs is well-positioned to support its growing customer base and meet the explosive demand for optical I/O solutions,” said Shef Osborn, partner at Light Street Capital. “This funding demonstrates to its customers that Ayar Labs has the resources necessary to support their AI infrastructure needs.”
This funding allows the company to scale its breakthrough optical I/O technology, the industry’s first commercially viable optical interconnect solution backed by a robust manufacturing ecosystem. Named one of America’s Best Startup Employers by Forbes earlier this year, Ayar Labs plans to increase hiring next year. A list of open roles with the company is available here.
Additional Investor Statements
“Intel Capital has long recognized the importance of pioneering new interconnect technologies to improve compute efficiency and performance,” said Srini Ananth, managing director at Intel Capital. “We have been dedicated to supporting Ayar Labs’ continued growth and are proud to reaffirm our commitment to its optical I/O solutions that aim to disrupt the AI industry.”
“As an early investor and collaborator, Applied Ventures looks forward to continue working with Ayar Labs to advance energy-efficient computing using photonics-based optical interconnects,” said Anand Kamannavar, global head of Applied Ventures and board observer of Ayar Labs. “Ayar Labs plays a key role in helping solve the critical challenge of moving vast amounts of data efficiently across chips and data center systems.”
“3M is excited to invest in Ayar Labs and our opportunities to collaborate,” said Mark Copman, senior vice president, 3M New Growth Ventures. “This partnership reinforces 3M’s commitment to advancing data center and next-gen solutions for AI infrastructure using 3M’s leading material science expertise.”
About Ayar Labs
Ayar Labs is the leader in optical interconnect solutions that move data at the speed of AI. Recognizing that the complexity and size of AI models are increasing at a rate that traditional interconnect technology cannot handle, the company has developed the industry’s first optical I/O solution that enables customers to maximize the compute efficiency and performance of growing AI infrastructure, while reducing costs, latency and power consumption. Based on open standards and optimized for both AI training and inference, Ayar Labs’ optical I/O solution is backed by a robust ecosystem that enables it to integrate smoothly into AI systems at scale. Ayar Labs was founded in 2015. For more information, visit www.ayarlabs.com.
(Graphic: Business Wire)
A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. in the 2022 killing of Jimmy “Jay” Lee, a gay man who was prominent in the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Mississippi.
Jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict after over nine and a half hours of deliberation.
Lee’s body has never been found, but a judge declared him dead.
Herrington, 24, showed little emotion as he left the courtroom with his attorneys and several relatives. He remains free on bond and is still charged with capital murder, which Mississippi law defines as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping. Prosecutors had said they would not seek the death penalty. He faces life in prison if he is tried again and convicted.
Jurors on Wednesday were told they could also consider lesser charges of first-degree murder, punishable by life in prison; second-degree murder, 20 years to life; or manslaughter, up to 20 years.
Circuit Judge Kelly Luther said he will consult with prosecutors and defense attorneys about setting another trial.
Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee, 20, was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee.
Lee disappeared July 8, 2022, in Oxford, where the university is located and the trial was held.
Police arrested Herrington two weeks after Lee vanished. Investigators testified that they used warrants to obtain electronic records including explicit messages between social media accounts belonging to the two men and online searches conducted by Herrington, including one inquiring how long it takes to strangle someone.
Prosecutors said during closing arguments Wednesday that Herrington and Lee had a sexual encounter that ended badly and Lee left Herrington’s apartment. They said text messages showed that Herrington, who was not openly gay, persuaded Lee to return with the promise of more sex. Prosecutors said Lee was killed after going back.
“Tim Herrington lived a lie — lived a lie to his family,” District Attorney Ben Creekmore said. “He lied to Jay Lee to coax him over there, promising to do something with him.”
Herrington’s attorney, Kevin Horan, has said prosecutors cannot prove Lee is dead without having a body. He told jurors Wednesday that text messages showed Herrington did not lure Lee to his apartment.
“He’s the one that’s being dominant anchoring this particular conversation,” Horan said of Lee.
Lee, 20, has not contacted friends or family, and his financial transactions and once-prolific social media posts have stopped since the day he disappeared, investigators testified.
Police arrested Herrington two weeks after Lee went missing. Authorities interviewed Herington twice that day, and he gave conflicting information about the hours before Lee vanished, Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen testified Tuesday.
Before officers interviewed Herrington, they had already obtained explicit messages exchanged between social media accounts belonging to Herrington and Lee during the final hours Lee was known to be alive, McCutchen said.
Google records obtained through a warrant showed that Herrington searched “how long does it take to strangle someone” at 5:56 a.m., University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas testified last week.
The final text message from Lee’s phone was sent to a social media account belonging to Herrington at 6:03 a.m. from a spot near Herrington’s apartment, McCutchen said Tuesday. A cellphone tower in another part of Oxford last located any signal from Lee’s phone shortly before 7:30 a.m., the police chief said. A security camera showed Herrington moments later jogging out of a parking lot where Lee’s car was abandoned, investigators testified earlier.
On the day Lee vanished, Herrington was also seen on security cameras buying duct tape in Oxford and driving to his own hometown of Grenada about an hour south of Oxford, police have testified.
Herrington's relatives sat behind him in the courtroom, and Lee's sat behind prosecutors. When Luther dismissed court after the mistrial, he instructed the two groups to leave separately.
Jurors were chosen from another county about 250 miles (402 kilometers) to the south. They heard eight days of arguments and testimony.
The judge twice urged jurors to continue deliberating when they said they were deadlocked. After the third such message, Luther declared the mistrial and thanked them for serving, adding: “I’ve asked a lot of you."
Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr., foreground, who was on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, and his defense team leave court after a mistrial was declared, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP, Pool)
Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr., center, who was on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, and his defense team leave court after a mistrial was declared, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP, Pool)
Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr., center, who was on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, joins family as they leave court after a mistrial was declared, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP, Pool)
Judge Kelly Luther presides over the case of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, Pool)
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., center, who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, talks with his attorneys as the jury deliberates on the case, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, Pool)
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, sits at the defense table as the jury decides the case, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, Pool)
Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr., who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, leaves the courtroom as the jury is sent back for further deliberations, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP, Pool)
Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr., who is on trial for the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, gets up from the defense table as the jury is sent back for further deliberations, at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Bruce Newman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, via AP, Pool)
Stephanie Lee talks with family during the capital murder trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is charged in the 2022 death of her son, Jimmie "Jay" Lee, in Oxford, Miss., on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Antonella Rescigno/The Daily Mississippian via AP, Pool)
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who is on trial in the 2022 death of University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee, enters the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Miss., Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Antonella Rescigno/The Daily Mississippian via AP, Pool)
