NTT旗下IOWN AI基金参与西班牙光交换初创公司iPronics 1.25亿美元B轮融资

TOKYO -- An optical communications fund created by NTT has selected its first investment, a Spanish startup, as the Japanese company seeks outside partners to promote its technology for artificial intelligence.
The IOWN AI Fund participated in a $125 million Series B round by iPronics that raised money from 10-plus companies, including Nvidia. How much the NTT fund contributed has not been disclosed.
Established in 2019, iPronics develops programmable optical switches for AI data centers that provide connections within and between server racks. The money from the latest round -- which brings its cumulative fundraising total to $177 million -- will go toward investments needed for product deployment.
NTT announced this June the $500 million IOWN AI Fund, with U.S. venture capital investor Young Sohn, South Korea's SK Group, Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, and the Development Bank of Japan as operating partners. With the latest funding round, Sohn has become an adviser to iPronics.
The IOWN, or Innovative Optical and Wireless Network, concept was set out by NTT in 2019. The company aims to bring devices for photoelectric fusion -- combining optical and electronic technology -- to market as early as fiscal 2026.
The AI fund is intended to invest in leading companies to help supplement NTT's technologies in areas where it is lacking.
As AI data processing balloons, the amount of electricity it consumes is becoming a societal issue. Optical communications can more efficiently transfer data, which could lead to lower power usage.
Such major semiconductor companies as Nvidia and Broadcom are vying to develop optical technology for AI. Although NTT is ahead in terms of research and development, it lags behind American players in terms of commercialization and seeks to find partners and customers to promote the spread of IOWN technology.