Shanghai-based Lightelligence, a company specializing in optical computing, expects silicon photonic chips to become a key component of next-generation AI infrastructure. According to founder Shen Yichen, their share in data centers will increase from the current less than 3% to more than 30% over the next five years.
At the same time, the company is developing China’s first large-scale commercial optical computing project in Shanghai—a computing cluster featuring 10,000 GPU supernodes powered by optical computing technologies. The system is expected to significantly improve data transmission speeds while increasing the energy efficiency of AI infrastructure.
Lightelligence was founded in 2017 based on research in silicon photonics. In 2020, the company relocated its operations center from Boston to Shanghai, citing the city’s well-developed semiconductor ecosystem, strong manufacturing capabilities, and willingness to adopt emerging technologies at an early stage.
Today, around 70% of the company’s workforce is dedicated to research and development. Lightelligence focuses on two core areas: optical interconnects designed to accelerate GPU communications and photonic chips for high-performance computing. Since generating its first commercial revenue in 2023, the company’s annual revenue has doubled each year. Its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in April was followed by a more than 380% surge in its share price on the first day of trading.
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