# Can Silicon Photonics Solve the Bandwidth Bottleneck in AI Data Centers?

- Show: [Moore's Lobby](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby)
- Published: 2024-05-21
- Length: 51m
- Episode: 10
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers
- Listen: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/podcast/can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers

## Summary

Steve Klinger, VP of Product at LightMatter, explains how the company uses silicon photonics to solve the interconnect bandwidth bottleneck in AI data centers. He details LightMatter's flagship product, Passage, a programmable optical fabric that acts as an active interposer to connect chiplets and ASICs with high density and low power. Klinger also discusses Envis, LightMatter's photonic AI accelerator, which performs matrix-vector multiplication using light, and shares insights on the company's growth from MIT research to a VC-funded scaling phase.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=1) Introduction and Guest Background
- [6:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=381) Silicon Photonics vs Traditional Photonics
- [13:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=797) Passage: Programmable Optical Fabric
- [20:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=1213) The Interconnect Bottleneck in AI Data Centers
- [28:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=1703) Envis: Photonic AI Accelerator
- [38:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=2336) Idiom Software Stack and Developer Experience
- [41:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-05-21-can-silicon-photonics-solve-the-bandwidth-bottleneck-in-ai-data-centers#t=2460) Startup Lessons and Hiring at LightMatter

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- LightMatter (company)
- Passage (product)
- Envis (product)
- Idiom (product)
- Cypress Semiconductor (company)
- Cisco Systems (company)
- Ovium (company)
- Cavium (company)
- MIT (company)
- PyTorch (tool)
- TensorFlow (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Conversation with Ayar Labs CEO Mark Wade on Silicon Photonics, Co-Packaged Optics, and Next-Gen AI Infrastructure](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-09-21-conversation-with-ayar-labs-ceo-mark-wade-on-silicon-photonics-co-packaged-optic) (The Circuit)
- [Will Photonics Loosen the Bottlenecks in Neural Systems?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-06-08-will-photonics-loosen-the-bottlenecks-in-neural-systems) (EE Times Current)
- [EP 188: The Wild West of Optical, Cisco's AI Hack, and Is Compute an Investable Asset](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-08-17-ep-188-the-wild-west-of-optical-ciscos-ai-hack-and-is-compute-an-investable-asse) (The Circuit)
- [Advanced Packaging & Chiplet Design with Chipletz](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2026-03-13-advanced-packaging-chiplet-design-with-chipletz) (OnTrack)
- [Can Great Sky’s Light-Connected AI Enable Bigger Brains?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-07-22-can-great-skys-light-connected-ai-enable-bigger-brains) (EE Times Current)

## Citing this page

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