Mesh Optical Technologies, a Los Angeles based startup, has announced the close of their Series A funding. In the end, they did it, raising all $50 million – with Thrive Capital leading the investment. The company was founded by former SpaceX engineers Travis Brashears, Cameron Robinson and Serena Grown-Haeberli. Their motivation is to radically improve data center connectivity with cutting edge optical communication technology.
The three formed a bond when they worked together at SpaceX. They were crucial for creating the optical communication links, keeping thousands of Starlink internet satellites connected to each other and the ground. With deep insight from their years of experience, they launched Mesh Optical Technologies. Their aspirational target is to produce as much as a thousand of them a day, starting within the next year.
Cameron Robinson, President of Mesh Optical Technologies, talked about the importance of a strong strategic vision for the company. He noted that Mesh Optical Technologies is aiming for large purchase orders by 2027 and 2028. This strategy would enable them to regain a competitive edge in a market whose landscape is today largely owned by Chinese manufacturers and suppliers.
One particularly impressive innovation from the startup comes from its current evolution, which eliminates a traditionally used but power-hungry intermediary. This simple change can save around 3% to 5% of GPU cluster power consumption.
Travis Brashears, one of the co-founders and current Director of Engineering, explained that optical transceivers were a big deal in high-density data centers. He stated, “Someone will brag about a million GPU cluster; you have to multiply by four to five for the number of transceivers in that cluster.” This experience highlights the need for seamless optical solutions as ever-growing data and bandwidth requirements become more complex.
Philip Clark, a partner at Thrive Capital, pointed to the dangers of relying on international supply chains for the core components of technology. He stated, “If AI is the most important technology in several generations (which we believe to be true), to have critical parts of AI data center capex run through misaligned/competitive countries is a problem.” This view reflects Mesh Optical Technologies’ own dedication to establishing its supply chain outside of China.
Grown-Haeberli, now Vice President of Product at Mesh Optical Technologies, helped build upon their reach-for-the-stars vision. The world’s attention has largely been on [radio frequencies] for decades. We want to be at the forefront of this RF-to-photonics transition. Culturally, I think our goal is to interconnect everything, and computers are just the wishful starting point.
Leave a Reply