Lingdong Xinguang Closes Tens of Millions of Yuan in Angel++ Round Financing

Lingdong Xinguang Closes New Funding Round, Accelerating Chip-to-Chip Optical Interconnect Commercialization

Silicon photonics startup Lingdong Xinguang has officially announced the completion of a tens-of-millions-yuan angel++ financing round. The round was led by Panlin Capital, with follow-on investments from Tongfang Investment and Huize Tiancheng, a sub-fund co-established by Shenzhen Angel Fund of Funds (SAFF). The proceeds will be fully dedicated to the R&D and productization of core chip-to-chip optical interconnect technologies, marking a pivotal step in the company's commercialization journey.

Use of Funds: Two Core Product Lines in Focus

The newly raised capital will be channeled into two key initiatives: the productization of the SmartComb multi-wavelength dense optical source, and the development of the SmartPHY optical I/O chiplet.

The SmartComb multi-wavelength dense optical source is a critical foundational component for chip-to-chip optical interconnects. It is capable of generating multiple precisely spaced wavelength channels from a single source, providing stable and reliable optical signal support for high-density optical communications. The SmartPHY optical I/O chiplet, meanwhile, is designed to address bandwidth bottlenecks in inter-chip data transmission. By integrating optical interconnect interfaces into a compact chiplet form factor, it enables efficient co-packaging with host chips, significantly boosting communication efficiency among chips in data centers and AI computing clusters.

Industry Context: AI Compute Demand Fuels the Optical Interconnect Race

As demand for computing power surges due to large-model training and inference, the limitations of traditional electrical interconnects in bandwidth, power consumption, and latency are becoming increasingly apparent. Chip-to-chip optical interconnect technology, with its inherent advantages of high bandwidth, low power consumption, and low latency, is emerging as a core architectural direction for next-generation data center interconnects.

From a supply chain perspective, international giants such as NVIDIA and Broadcom have already invested heavily in optical interconnect technology roadmaps, viewing them as a key pathway to overcoming compute scaling bottlenecks. Domestically, the silicon photonics sector has attracted significant capital market attention in recent years, with multiple startups securing funding. The industry as a whole is at a critical juncture, transitioning from technology validation to product commercialization.

Investor Perspective

Lead investor Panlin Capital's decision to back Lingdong Xinguang in this round reflects its strong conviction in the commercial prospects of silicon photonics. As a foundational technology underpinning AI infrastructure, chip-to-chip optical interconnect addresses clear market demand and offers vast growth potential. Lingdong Xinguang's dual focus on multi-wavelength optical sources and optical I/O chiplets positions the company to build differentiated competitive advantages.

Outlook

The global AI industry is currently in a critical window of large-scale compute infrastructure buildout, and the industrialization of chip-to-chip optical interconnect technology is accelerating. With this funding round completed, Lingdong Xinguang is poised to speed up R&D iteration of its core products and accelerate customer onboarding, securing a favorable position in China's domestic silicon photonics landscape.

As the productization of the SmartComb optical source and the development of the SmartPHY optical I/O chiplet continue to advance, whether Lingdong Xinguang can carve out a differentiated path amid fierce industry competition remains a story worth watching.