PicoJool, a startup backed by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, raises $27.5 million in a Series A led by Socratic Partners, with Hudson River Trading participating. The company develops VCSEL and MicroVCSEL optical chips and modules, including 100G and 200G products, to replace copper interconnects and increase bandwidth while reducing energy use in AI clusters. It plans to expand teams in the U.S. and Taiwan, qualify products with customers, and prepare its 200G VCSEL for mass production with WIN Semiconductors and other foundries.
PicoJool raises $27.5 million in Series A funding led by Socratic Partners, with Hudson River Trading participating in the round. The company says it will use the financing to support production and qualification of its optical connectivity portfolio for AI infrastructure.
PicoJool founder Al Yuen discusses the company’s VCSEL products, third-party manufacturing model, and plans for optical links in AI systems. The interview takes place in July 2026.
PicoJool introduces its 200G VCSEL and micro-VCSEL product line for scale-up AI data center architectures. The products have bandwidth exceeding 37 GHz, and chip-level sampling is scheduled to begin in Q3 2026.
