Oxford-based chip startup Salience Labs has raised $125m (£94m) in a Series B funding round. Investors include AMD and Intel, with Bullhound Capital leading the round.
The funding is intended to help the British firm scale production of its photonic chips. These chips use light rather than electrical signals to move data between computing systems, a technology designed to address the significant energy demands of AI data centres.
Salience Labs plans to use the investment to expand manufacturing and strengthen its presence in Silicon Valley. The company aims to supply infrastructure for the global AI industry.
Vaysh Kewada, chief executive and co-founder of Salience Labs, stated that the investment will accelerate the company's move towards high-volume production. He added that optical circuit switching (OCS) will be crucial in AI data centre networking.
The investment comes as the UK's AI ambitions face challenges related to electricity costs and access to the national grid. The UK's electricity connection queue for data centres reportedly tripled between November 2024 and June 2025, from 41 gigawatts to 125 gigawatts, according to Ofgem figures.