Silicon photonics pioneer secures major backing from NVIDIA and leading tech investors to accelerate commercial deployment of its energy-efficient AI data centre networking.
Silicon photonics pioneer iPronics has secured $125 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital, with participation from graphics processing giant NVIDIA.
The round, which brings the Spanish firm’s total funding to $177 million, also attracted investment from new and existing backers, including Triatomic Capital, Bosch Ventures, Catalight Capital, European Innovation Council Fund, The Tate Family Trust, Fine Structure Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, Build Collective, and Criteria Venture Tech.
The Valencia University spin-off plans to use the capital to expand operations, accelerate commercial deployment, and meet rising demand for its iPronics Optical Networking Engine (ONE)—a rack-mounted optical switch designed specifically for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The rapid growth of AI workloads is straining traditional copper-based network architecture, reaching operational limits in bandwidth and energy consumption. iPronics’ compact, purpose-built Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) platform provides a programmable layer that allows data centres to reconfigure network connectivity in real time, maximising GPU efficiency whilst controlling power usage and operational costs.
“Securing this support strengthens our vision as we build iPronics into a new class of optical networking leaders,” said Christian Dupont, chief executive of iPronics. “With this investment, we can significantly accelerate our commercialisation, delivering the scale our customers need to drive broad adoption and ensuring data centres can fully utilise their GPUs without compromising performance.”
As part of the investment, Manish Muthal, senior managing director at Maverick Silicon, joins the iPronics board of directors alongside technology industry veteran Geoffrey Tate, who serves as an advisor to Light Street Capital. Additionally, former Samsung corporate president Young Sohn, a founding member of Catalight Capital, joins the company as an advisor.
“The explosive growth of AI workloads has pushed traditional network infrastructure to its power and bandwidth limits, making optical circuit switching more critical than ever,” noted Muthal.
To support its expansion and strengthen its presence in North America, the company has established an office in Santa Clara, California, and is actively recruiting across product strategy, customer deployment, and AI infrastructure partnerships.
