In a major leap forward in the future of artificial intelligence infrastructure, Oxford-born startup Pioneering 3D Optical Computing Lumai has raised more than $10 million in a new financing round. The investment was led by technology-focused builder capital and was supported by well-known names such as IP Group, Photonventures, photonventures, Lifter Ventures, Liftt, Qubits Ventures, State Farm Ventures and Tis Inc., which demonstrates growing confidence in what we know about AI Compute comperiate landscape ai.
At the heart of Lumai’s innovation is a bold ambition: to perform at 50 times faster at 50 times faster at a silicon accelerator, accounting for only 10% of energy costs. They are doing it using light.
Why AI needs radical overhaul
As AI systems such as Chatgpt, Claude and Gemini become more complex, the underlying hardware is pushing it to its breakthrough point. Training and running large language models (LLMS) requires huge computing power and a lot of energy. In fact, data centers in the U.S. are expected to triple their power consumption by 2028, potentially consuming 12% of the country’s electricity supply.
But it’s not only about power. It’s about economics and scalability. Traditional silicon GPUs, even integrated photonics, are now facing lower returns, higher costs and barriers to scalability.
Enter Lumai.
What is optical computing? Why so big?
With conventional chips through silicon, optical calculations are calculated using photons (particles of light). This provides three main advantages:
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speed – Photons propagate faster than electrons and do not generate heat in the same way, enabling ultra-fast processing.
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Energy efficiency – Optical signals greatly reduce power consumption.
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Parallelism – Light can handle many operations simultaneously using different paths and wavelengths.
What is really novel about Lumai’s approach is that it uses 3D optical matrix vector multiplication (MVM), a key operation in deep learning – in free space. This means that the calculation occurs when the beam passes through the 3D geometry rather than on a flat chip.
The technology has the potential to operate 10 inches per second – 1000 times faster than today’s electronics and 100 times faster than the human brain.
Lumai’s Secret Sauce: 3D Optical Acceleration
From the University of Oxford of Oxford, Lumai has solved a challenge that has left researchers in trouble for decades: how to reliably scale optical computing.
Their processors are designed in PCIE form factor (making it easy to integrate into existing data center infrastructure) and perform matrix multiplication – the basis of neural networks using beams propagating in 3D space. This allows:
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Extremely wide vector operation
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Highlight clock speed
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Delay inference near zero
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Large-scale parallel processing
As a result, Lumai’s solution not only accelerates performance, but also greatly reduces energy use and total cost of ownership (TCO).
“The future of artificial intelligence requires a thorough breakthrough in computing,” explain Tim WeillCEO and co-founder of Lumai. “Current LLMs are unsustainable in cost and power. Our optical computing design overcomes these obstacles and allows the next generation of AI to flourish.”
Visionary supporters from the industry
This financing has attracted some of the smartest minds and institutions in technology and venture capital:
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Builder Capital Dr. Serg Bell says Lumai’s technology “An important step in improving matrix multiplication,” Plot how quantum computing transforms similarities in other computing types.
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IP group Dr. Lee Thornton highlighted the company’s success in addressing optical computing scalability, making it a viable business path.
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Photochanger’ Ewit Roos says Lumai is “Reshape the future of AI computing,” Put it at the forefront of data center innovation.
And the recognition doesn’t stop there – Lumai has received a lot of praise:
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Best overall technology At the Global OCP Future Technology Symposium
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choose Intel Ignite Prestigious London Plan
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Research co-founder Dr. Xu Du Join Royal Academy of Engineering Shott Accelerator
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Co-founder Dr. James Spall Named Photonics 100 List of 2025
What’s next for Lumai?
Through new funding, Lumai plans:
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Double its total
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Advance product development
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Expand to the US market
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Promote its commercialization Optical AI reasoning accelerator
Compared to silicon-based competitors, their roadmap maps a path that grows from 4x performance to full 50x, while consuming only 10% of power. In a world where sustainability, cost-effectiveness and AI acceleration are being the next great computing challenge, Lumai not only positioned himself as a player, but also a pioneer.
The final thought
The AI competition is no longer just a smarter algorithm, but about smarter infrastructure. Lumai’s 3D optical processors can glimpse the future of AI without being constrained by silicon, and photons become the fuel to start intelligence.
In an industry that longs for disruptive changes, Lumai may just be the breakthrough the world has been waiting for.
