Optical interconnect technology firm Celestial AI has acquired silicon photonics intellectual property from Rockley Photonics, including worldwide issued and pending patents.
Celestial hopes to use the IP to deliver products to its hyperscale data centre customers, to enable scalability and energy efficiency in AI compute and network connectivity applications.
The acquired patent portfolio comprises three main technology categories, including optoelectronic systems-in-package, electro-absorption modulators (EAMs) and optical switch technology, relevant for multiple AI data centre infrastructure uses. Celestial´s IP portfolio now includes more than 200 patents.
“These patents fit well into our expanding Photonic Fabric patent portfolio spanning advanced packaging, thermally stable silicon photonics, and system architectures for optical compute interconnect,” said Dave Lazovsky, Founder and CEO of Celestial AI. “This acquisition reflects Celestial AI’s commitment to protecting Photonic Fabric-based solutions that are being implemented in our customers’ AI data centre infrastructure.”
A rocky road for Rockley
Rockley Photonics filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, which it emerged from 46 days later thanks to $35 million in funding from stakeholders.
At the time, and with a clear motivation to move on from the filing, Rockley emphasised that it was on schedule with all programmes, including its development of remote patient monitoring technology. It said that it saw promising results relating to a number of biomarkers, including glucose.
However, earlier in 2024, a class action was filed against the company by law firm Bragar Eagel & Squire, an advocator of stockholder rights.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired Rockley’s common stock between 2 November 2022 and 20 October 2023.
It is alleged that Rockley failed to inform investors of details regarding the company’s joint venture agreement with Hengtong Rockley Technology.
Credit for main image: (image: kwarkot/Shutterstock)
