Point2 Technology is a young, exciting startup. Founded nine years ago by former Marvell, Nvidia and Samsung architects, it has the potential to dramatically change data center efficiency with its innovative cable technology. The company has successfully secured $55 million in venture funding, with significant investment from Molex, a leading manufacturer of computer cables and connections. This financial backing positions Point2 Technology to enhance data transmission capabilities while addressing the growing demands for bandwidth in modern computing environments.
By replacing digital circuitry with its groundbreaking optical system, the startup will dramatically reduce power consumption to one-third of current optical solutions. It will cut costs down to one-third and bring latency down as much as one-thousandth of today’s alternatives. This unique mix of efficiency and performance might be foretelling the next step in efficiency revolutionizing data centers.
Cutting-Edge Cable Design
At the core of Point2 Technology’s solution is its e-Tube cable, made up of eight e-Tube fibers. Each fiber is now able to carry well over 200 gigabits of data per second. This patented design allows for the fastest possible data transmission. The new e-Tube cable uses the space of a conventional 32-gauge copper cable while providing up to 20 times the distance.
Now the startup is preparing to ship their chips for a new, record-setting innovative cable. This cable will provide an incredible capacity of 1.6 terabits per second. This next-generation cable will utilize eight slender polymer waveguides, each capable of transporting 448 gigabits per second through two frequencies: 90 GHz and 225 GHz. David Kuo from Point2 Technology emphasizes the urgency for advancements in cable technology as traditional copper cables reach their limits.
“As the bandwidth demands on copper cables approach the terabit-per-second realm, physics demands that they be made shorter and thicker.” – David Kuo
The inability of copper cables to go any farther Kuo has called “the copper cliff.” This characterization paints an accurate picture of the moment we find ourselves in as data usage continues to rise exponentially.
Advantages Over Optical Technologies
Point2 Technology’s inventions would give a dramatic competitive edge over optical technologies—especially in transceiver-processor packages that would be used inside of data centers. The system includes a digital component that interfaces with graphics processing units (GPUs). To transmit data, the SoC employs a terahertz-frequency generator and a circuit mixer to encode data onto the terahertz signal.
The results from recent demonstrations are promising. Last April, Point2 Technology and the University of Utah jointly demonstrated a record 4-meter long wireless transmission at 970 GHz at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference. Welch envisions breakthroughs in their tech leading to wireless data transmission being completely transformed. In the near future, distances up to 20 meters may be possible with the waveguide.
“Happens to be a beautiful distance for scale-up in data centers.” – Dave Welch
This new capability will greatly improve efficiency in scaling data centers. Distance and speed are incredibly important to maximizing system performance.
The Future of Data Transmission
Point2 Technology is getting ready to debut its AECs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). To begin with, the startup is targeting connecting individual GPUs to Ethernet switches in scale-out networks. This combined, strategic move is aimed at delivering industry leading performance and reliability on all compute platforms, from embedded to high-end data center.
As industry experts have noted, electronics naturally lend themselves to greater reliability than optics. Fiber is great, but in order to appreciate fiber, customers need to deal with the photonics that come along with it, according to Dave Welch.
“Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics.” – Dave Welch
The switch to Point2 Technology’s integrated system would reduce many of these worries, all while providing better performance results.
Don Barnetson, another industry expert, supports this notion by stating, “You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.” This reflects a growing industry movement to get the most out of current technologies before switching to newer options.