Silicon Photonics Startup Liangyin Technology Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding
Liangyin Technology, a Chinese silicon photonics startup founded in 2024, has successfully completed an angel funding round, securing tens of millions of yuan. The investment was led by Zhuhai Science and Technology Industrial Group, with participation from Zhuhai Zhengfang Group and Summit Ascent. These funds will be allocated to expanding the team, iterating on chip designs, and acquiring new equipment.
The company specializes in the research and development of silicon photonics transmission chips, Optical IO (OIO), and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) solutions. Liangyin Technology's founding team brings extensive experience from both domestic and international semiconductor industries. Founder Li Yaoji has over 30 years of integrated circuit experience, including roles at CUMEC and Cadence. Co-founder and CTO Zhao Xiongjing has a background in architecture design for AI GPUs, NPUs, and silicon photonics chips from Cisco and Intel. Chief Scientist Craig Peterson is a former Intel executive involved in processor and chipset design.
Liangyin Technology is focusing on micro-ring resonators (MRMs) as a core component for CPO and OIO, aiming to address the increasing demand for higher transmission rates (1.6T and beyond) driven by AI and large model training. MRMs offer advantages over traditional modulation methods, including smaller size, lower drive voltage, and reduced power consumption, making them suitable for high-density integration. The company is developing 1.6T and higher-speed silicon photonics chips based on its self-developed 200G MRM, with plans for CPO solutions and Optical I/O Chiplets. They have also developed proprietary temperature control feedback and equalization algorithms to ensure MRM stability and possess self-developed silicon photonics Process Design Kits (PDKs), utilizing domestic CMOS processes to mitigate supply chain risks.
In an interview, CTO Zhao Xiongjing highlighted Liangyin's advantages, including actual tape-out and testing experience, a wide free spectral range (FSR) for MRMs enabling more channels, and the crucial ability to develop key components in-house rather than relying solely on foundry PDKs. This independence allows for greater customization and performance optimization. The company has already achieved a significant milestone by successfully integrating various functional components onto a single chip, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the chip design process. Liangyin is collaborating with leading domestic GPU manufacturers on CPO/OIO solutions, focusing on optical-electrical signal conversion and protocol adaptation, and is working with packaging partners on advanced 3D stacking technologies. Their goal is to become a core enabler of domestic optical interconnects within next-generation computing systems.
The emergence of Liangyin Technology, backed by significant angel investment, underscores the critical need for advanced optical interconnect solutions to support the exponential growth in AI-driven computing power. The company's focus on silicon photonics, particularly micro-ring resonators for CPO and OIO, directly addresses the physical limitations of traditional electrical interconnects at speeds of 1.6T and higher. By developing proprietary technology and leveraging domestic manufacturing processes, Liangyin aims to navigate geopolitical supply chain risks and establish a foothold in a market projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars. The challenge ahead involves not only technological innovation but also fostering ecosystem collaboration within China's nascent optical interconnect industry, ensuring seamless integration with computing and advanced packaging sectors to realize the full potential of next-generation data centers.
AI-generated to prompt reflection — not editorial opinion, not advice, not a statement of fact. How this works.
