PicoJool raises $12 million to develop its VCSELs

18 Nov 2025

High-performance, low-cost designs target “bandwidth gulf” of AI data centers.

PicoJool, a Palo Alto-based developer of optical connectivity photonics sources, has “emerged from stealth”, announcing $12 million in funding led by Playground Global. PicoJool has developed what it describes as “new class of pixel-level photonics that make optical links as inexpensive, compact, and manufacturable as traditional copper connections”.

“By making high-bandwidth optical connectivity cost-competitive and manufacturable at scale, PicoJool is collapsing the cost and complexity barriers that have held photonics back for decades,” said Pat Gelsinger, General Partner at Playground Global.

The company is building high bandwidth vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with unique parallel optics and packaging innovations, delivering high performance at a low cost to compete directly with copper at scale, the company states. Picojool integrates its optical chips into massively parallel pluggable modules, with applications specifically targeting large-scale AI systems.

‘Fundamental shift in connectivity’

“The relentless demand for bandwidth in hyperscale and AI data centers requires a fundamental shift in connectivity, moving beyond the physical and economic constraints of copper,” said Al Yuen, founder and CEO of PicoJool. “This funding will accelerate our deployment of high-reliability, cost-effective VCSEL technology across external foundries.”

“Along with many others, I have been predicting the move from copper to optical for over a decade. AI-scale computing is the driving force for that conversion to happen now,” said Gelsinger.

He added, “PicoJool arrives at the precise moment the industry needs it most, where the demand for bandwidth meets the need for efficiency. By making high-bandwidth optical connectivity cost-competitive and manufacturable at scale, PicoJool is collapsing the cost and complexity barriers that have held photonics back for decades.”

The PicoJool team brings decades of photonics experience. Founder Al Yuen holds more than 50 patents in the photonics space, including the invention of connectivity technologies that form the backbone of the Internet: active optical cables (AOC) and the QSFP transceiver. Their technical expertise and their professional network across the semiconductor supply chain positions PicoJool to deliver massively parallel optical solutions for 800G, 1.6T, and beyond, says the firm.

These VCSELs are designed to enable longer reach and greater network flexibility for the largest AI data centers. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with R&D and Operations in both the U.S. and Taiwan. The investment will be used to scale manufacturing capabilities and deepen R&D efforts to meet the exploding market need for AI Connectivity, including extending its low-cost VCSEL technology into 400G/lane systems and beyond.