Point2 Technology, a startup founded nine years ago by industry veterans from Marvell, Nvidia, and Samsung, is poised to make significant waves in the data center sector. The venture backed company has raised an astounding $55 million. Among them, none has invested more than earth-friendly Molex, a leading manufacturer of computer cables and connections. Point2 Technology is committed to minimizing the separation between photonic technology and copper technology. Their patented system likewise holds great potential to bring efficiency and performance to advanced new levels.
The smart wireless solution developed by Point2 Technology is a low-power, flexible system that works on existing radio frequencies and can be produced in commercial-grade silicon foundries. Such an approach will allow the company to develop more efficient, cheaper cables. These cables use orders of magnitude less power than conventional optical systems. By utilizing its world-leading technology, Point2 focuses on developing revolutionary systems. These systems will use just one-third the power of fiber optic cabling, cost just one-third as much and work to produce latency as low as one-thousandth of what current technologies can supply.
Technological Advancements in Data Transfer
Point2 Technology’s cables have eight e-Tube fibers, with each one able to transmit more than 200 gigabits of data per second. Lastly, the high data transfer rate makes e-Tube fibers a highly effective alternative. Without a doubt, they beat out any traditional copper or optical solutions. In fact, the company announced its future manufacturing plans for just such a 1.6-terabit-per-second cable already incorporating eight slender polymer waveguides.
Each waveguide in the e-Tube cable can carry an impressive 448 gigabits per second using two frequencies: 90 GHz and 225 GHz. This hybrid technology drives up data throughput and wonderfully minimizes the physical footprint of the cables. The e-Tube cable measures half the area of a 32-gauge copper cable while achieving up to 20 times the reach, extending to distances of 20 meters.
“You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.” – Don Barnetson
In terms of design, Point2 Technology’s e-Tube cables are built around one integrated silicon chip at each end of the e-Tube. This chip receives incoming digital data and produces modulated millimeter-wave frequency outputs. Next, it propagates those frequencies through an antenna into the waveguide. When combined, these advancements provide a clear competitive lead over optical technologies, particularly in densely integrated transceiver-processor packages.
Addressing Industry Challenges
As the data center industry grows and changes, the demand for innovative, efficient and effective solutions only rises. Point2 Technology targets one of the industry’s primary pain points: the reliance on optical technology, which many customers find cumbersome despite its benefits.
“Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics.” – Dave Welch
Point2’s system has better performance and reliability on offer as an attractive alternative. According to Dave Welch, “Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics,” emphasizing the advantages of Point2’s approach in delivering a dependable solution for data transmission.
It’s not just performance. The company’s technology adds a richer AI/ML deployment experience. Point2 Technology builds its solutions with a clear focus on supporting and augmenting existing infrastructures. Their focus is on solving the biggest operational issues that data centers are dealing with on a daily basis.
Future Implications and Applications
Looking forward, Point2 Technology would like to continue using its cutting-edge e-Tube cables among other uses and applications found in data centers. The first of these expected uses is connecting multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to the network switches that make up scale-out networks. This application demonstrates the flexibility of Point2’s technology to evolve with the needs of an industry as they develop specialized use cases.
“If I didn’t have to be at [an optical wavelength], where should I be?” – Dave Welch
This question is at the heart of innovation at Point2 Technology. Now the company pushes the envelope on new wavelengths and frequencies. In so doing, it upends the traditional status quo and opens the door for innovation in data transmission technology.