PicoJool closes $27.5M Series A to bet on optical interconnects for AI clusters
Optical interconnect startup PicoJool raised a Series A to move its 200G VCSEL toward production; performance claims remain the company's own, so watch customer qualification.
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Optical interconnect startup PicoJool announced a $27.5 million Series A round, bringing its total raised to $39.5 million.
The round was led by Socratic Partners with participation from Hudson River Trading. In November 2025, Playground Global — the venture firm of former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger — led the company's $12 million seed round. No valuation was disclosed.
PicoJool builds VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers), semiconductor laser diodes that move data inside data centers as light signals, aiming to replace the copper interconnects between AI chip clusters. Founder and CEO Al Yuen said the company has reached 200G per lane and is working with foundries including WIN Semiconductors to prepare mass production. The performance and efficiency claims are the company's own, with no customer orders or third-party tests yet; the new funds go first toward qualifying products with customers.