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Akhetonics, a Berlin-based innovator in the field of optical computing, has announced a successful €6 million funding round aimed at advancing the development of the world’s first true all-optical digital processor. The round was led by Matterwave Ventures, with participation from 468 Capital, Bayern Kapital, and existing investors including Runa Capital and Rheingau Founders. This new capital will allow Akhetonics to bring its revolutionary hardware to pilot customers, who are increasingly in need of faster, more energy-efficient computing.
Akhetonics was founded in 2022 by Michael Kissner. It is a company that aims to revolutionize the traditional electronic processors by replacing them with all-optical processors that rely on light (photons) instead of electricity (electrons) to compute. Most of the companies involved in the computing space claim to use optical technology, but then combine it with electronic parts in a hybrid approach. Akhetonics, on the other hand, is on a revolutionary path in terms of developing purely optical solutions that could go significantly faster and consume far less energy than the present systems.
We are shipping a completely new, all-optical, general-purpose processor that enables significantly higher performance and lower power consumption compared to traditional processors,” said Kissner, company CEO. “This is achieved through the use of light for processing and storing information, which allows real-time execution that’s simply not possible with traditional electronics or opto-electronic hybrids.
Several advantages characterize the Akhetonics all-optical processor: low latency, deterministic execution, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Thus, this technology is most desirable in high-stakes areas, such as defense, aviation, and networking.
Unlike traditional processors, all-optical processor Akhetonics is designed to break through the limitations of the past 50 years of design based on the von Neumann architecture. The goal is to create a new paradigm in computing that promises to improve performance while sharply reducing energy consumption by harnessing photonic hardware coupled with advanced software tools and in-house design automation.
Primary strength of this all-optical strategy is that it holds strong potential for enhancing significantly on the speed and efficiency on computational processes. This day and age of critical use of computing power and low energy efficiency are leading on technological advances, so much so that Akhetonics stands poised on an edge of revolutionizing higher performance in computing. Technologies holding such promises offer leaped functionalities with the help of very less energy usage to drive intensive computations within a scope of industry.
It especially addresses the need for fields as diverse as defense, avionics, and ultra-high-speed networking for speedy, low-latency operations. The all-optical processor developed by Akhetonics addresses this high demand by providing the type of speed and low latency requirements that these industries need for specific applications. Furthermore, a product that is resistant to interference from electromagnetic fields is required for mission-critical solutions where reliability is of concern.
“The ability to manufacture these processors using mature process nodes globally gives us a strategic edge, particularly in today’s complex geopolitical environment,” Kissner noted, emphasizing the advantages of using widely available and proven manufacturing technologies to scale production.
Akhetonics boasts of a highly ambitious roadmap as its first target by 2026 would be the completion and demonstration of the fully fledged prototype of an all-optical processor, that is going to finally place its technology into some application environment. With Akhetonics taking off from the all-optical processor developed fully, this device, among other applications, would bring with it criticality as relates to performance and efficiency as regards energy use for industrial use.
Akhetonics’s technology is revolutionary not only by the increasing demand for performance improvements and energy reduction but will also be disruptive of established computing paradigms. As the company further enhances its all-optical processor, it hopes to release a new generation of computers that may open the field to unprecedented opportunities.
With the latest €6 million funding injection, Akhetonics is now well-positioned to bring its innovative all-optical processor closer to reality. The funding will help the company further develop its prototype and deliver the first-generation hardware to pilot customers, who will be able to test and implement the technology in their own operations.
The all-optical processor is expected to mark a new benchmark for performance and energy efficiency of computing systems, allowing industries to tackle more complex computational challenges while consuming less power. As Akhetonics moves forward with product development, the company will have a leading role in shaping the future of high-performance computing and redefine the way one thinks about processing power.
