With participation from other investors, deep tech investments company Bosch Ventures, and Molex, a global provider of electronics and a pioneer in connectivity, have extended their $22.6 million Series B investment in Point2 Technology, a leading provider of ultra-low-power, low-latency mixed-signal SoC solutions for multi-terabit interconnect. This Series B extension would validate the demand for Point2’s technology in AI/ML data center applications.
The increase in financing coincides with a sharp increase in the use of AI in data centers. The spike in AI infrastructure investment is predicted to increase data center capital expenditure (capex) by 15%, reaching $500 billion by 2027, according to a January 2024 research from Dell'Oro Group. The investment in AI infrastructure is the main cause of this capex surge. The estimated 50% rise in the data center switch industry, where the integration of Point2 interconnect chips is expected to revolutionize connection, would be a major factor contributing to this growth. The need for interconnect silicon is predicted to increase by 50% as a result of this development, highlighting AI's critical role in reshaping the direction of data center technology.
Additionally, Point2 Technology has partnered with strategic investor Molex to commercialize their E-Tube technology, a scalable interconnect platform that enables multi-terabit active cables with 50% less bulk and 80% less weight than copper cables using RF data transmission across plastic dielectric waveguide. E-Tube promises three orders of magnitude better picosecond latencies and a 50% reduction in power and cost when compared to optical connections. Breaking through the limits of copper and optical cabling, E-Tube is set to become the next generation of multi-terabit connection technology, shattering the ‘copper or optics’ paradigm for high-speed cable connectivity.
“As we pursue our goal to transform interconnect technology in AI/ML data centers and next-generation automotive applications, we are happy to receive backing from Molex and Bosch, two Tier 1 suppliers in the automotive sector,” said Sean Park, founder and CEO of Point2 Technology. “Our partnership with Bosch strengthens our position in connecting AI workloads for the expanding data center market and highlights the significance and great potential of Point2's low-power, low-latency, scalable interconnect technologies in the vast automotive sector.”
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“Our partnership with Bosch strengthens our position in connecting AI workloads for the expanding data center market,” said Sean Park, founder and CEO of Point2 Technology.
Network Connectivity
According to Ingo Ramesohl, Managing Director of Bosch Ventures, “Going forward, interconnect provides critical infrastructure for high-performance and energy-efficient data centers and networked automotive applications. Point2's innovative system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for interconnecting provide the high-bandwidth connectivity needed in the data center and automotive industries of the future, while also addressing the vital requirement to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy usage. The business and its innovations have a great deal of potential to revolutionize network connectivity in both industries.”
Jairo Guerrero, Vice President and General Manager of Molex's Copper Solutions division, said that “a new approach to cable interconnect is required due to the escalating network capacity demand in future AI/ML data center and automotive use cases. Point2 has created an E-Tube platform that can grow to meet data center and future automotive network designs' connection needs. For Molex's connection business, partnering with Point2 to commercialize E-Tube makes sense and puts our organization in a better position to meet the needs of our expanding clientele.”
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and generative AI are revolutionizing industries and enterprises, driving up need for network connection bandwidth and processing power in next-generation hyperscale data centers. Furthermore, hundreds of sensors are being connected by advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in automobiles, which is adopting a network-centric design. This would put a demand on low-power, low-latency, lightweight, and flexible interconnect for use in future automotive applications.
