Ayar Labs to showcase optical interconnect solutions to redefine AI infrastructure at OFC 2024

Ayar Labs, the leader in optical interconnect solutions that move data at the speed of AI, will present its latest technology advancements and ecosystem partnerships at the upcoming Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) Conference in San Diego on March 24-28, 2024 (booth #1511). Ayar Labs’ optical I/O solution will be on display at the event, including a demonstration of the industry’s first CW-WDM MSA-compliant 16-wavelength light source, which can drive 256 optical carriers for 16 Tbps of bi-directional bandwidth – a level of bandwidth essential for AI workloads.

“The explosive growth of AI models is breaking the back of existing infrastructure – traditional interconnect technology simply can’t scale to the cost and throughput multi-modal AI systems will require,” said Mark Wade, CEO & co-founder of Ayar Labs. “Our in-package optical I/O solution gives customers the performance and energy efficiency they need as they build out their next-generation AI infrastructure. We’re pleased to showcase this innovation alongside several ecosystem partners at OFC.”

As the complexity and size of AI models increase, traditional interconnect technology creates data bottlenecks that force GPUs and other accelerators to sit idle, limiting compute performance, increasing power consumption, and driving up costs. Ayar Labs’ optical I/O solution, which includes the SuperNova™ light source, eliminates these bottlenecks, enabling customers to maximize the compute efficiency and performance of their AI infrastructure while lowering costs, latency, and power consumption.

Only one year after introducing the industry’s first 4 Tbps optical solution, Ayar Labs is now unveiling the second generation of SuperNova, which powers the company’s TeraPHY™ optical I/O chiplet and enables an unrivaled 16 Tbps of bi-directional bandwidth. Compliant with the CW-WDM MSA specification, the 16-wavelength light source offers compact packaging, operates at wide temperature ranges, and can supply light for 256 data channels, making it capable of handling the significantly higher throughput required for the massive growth in AI applications.

Ayar Labs continues to bring together a robust ecosystem to streamline the integration of optical I/O into AI systems and ensure commercial readiness at scale. The company is working with several industry leaders to demonstrate the value optical solutions deliver for AI applications. Two examples Ayar Labs will be highlighting at OFC:

Corning Glass Waveguide Module: Ayar Labs and Corning have teamed up to develop a next-generation AI advancement. They have created an optical leadership solution by coupling Ayar Labs’ TeraPHY optical I/O chiplets with Corning’s glass waveguide module, bringing advanced optical capabilities to the AI ecosystem. Ericsson is partnering with Ayar Labs and Corning in this AI-driven solution as part of their technology exploration for future mobile systems. This joint innovation will be shown at Ayar Labs’ booth at OFC. Together, they will highlight how the technologies create future-ready, AI-enabled innovations.
Teramount TeraVERSE® Detachable Connector: Teramount and Ayar Labs are showcasing a concept for the next-generation TeraVERSE detachable connector to meet the infrastructure demands of next-generation AI. The detachable fiber connectivity solution features wideband surface coupling, bandwidth density, and detachability for reliable semiconductor-grade volume manufacturing of co-packaged optics and in-package optical I/O for AI. Wideband surface coupling offers high bandwidth density with negligible loss-related wavelength dependency, resulting in less lasers, power and fibers needed compared with grating coupler solutions.