Staera Semiconductor of San Francisco, CA, USA has emerged from stealth with a technology that builds optical data links directly into silicon chips. It targets the problem that now limits how fast and how large AI systems can grow: moving data between chips. Formerly New Silicon Corp (NSC), the company has raised $4.6m in pre-seed funding, led by Openspace Capital with participation from SGInnovate, Black Kite Capital, 28 Holdings, In Group, and Decimus Technologies.

AI chips now compute faster than copper wiring can feed them. Copper’s electrical…