Together with Point2 Technology, we are poised to change the trajectory of the data center industry. Their revolutionary cable solution is going to speed the training of these giant artificial intelligence models. The startup has raised a total of $55 million in venture capital, primarily from networking-industry connections maker Molex. It promotes a hybrid model uniting the best of existing technologies while introducing new inventions.
The company’s e-Tube cable contains eight ultra-thin polymer waveguides, each capable of 1.6 terabits per second throughput. Each waveguide inside the e-Tube carries more than 200 gigabits of data per second. This powerful capability enables dramatic advances in data transfer efficiency.
Point2 Technology’s move is particularly timely as the need for next-gen AI starts to accelerate. Point2 is on a mission to help data centers address the most pressing challenges they’re facing today. By developing chips that will be made in parallel with some new type of improved cabling, they’ve prioritized increasing bandwidth, power consumption, and latency.
Advancements in Cable Technology
Shimano’s e-Tube cable surges past previous AV and audio cable technology. It has only one half the cross section of conventional 32-gauge copper twisted pair cables—and it can reach distances up to 20 times farther! This innovation is enabling not only greater space efficiency, but improved connectivity on extensive data networks. This system consumes only one-third of the energy needed by standard optical technologies. It does so at one-third the cost and realizes latency rates that can reach a remarkable one-thousandth of today’s benchmarks.
To help clarify the impact of all this progress, we turned to David Kuo, vice president of product marketing and business development at Point2 Technology.
“Scaling up results in networks that are roughly 10 times as dense.” – David Kuo
This radical denser increases the efficiency of data centers. It underpins the burgeoning “Internet of Things” where devices and applications increasingly require real-time data processing and analysis.
Here, the partnership between Point2 and AttoTude is just as important as providing the talent and role models to help move this new cable solution further. The development pursuit is for a new, more robust, secure mechanism that improves the efficiency of data transmission. They’re doing this by bringing together the best of copper and photonic technologies. Put together, the impact of these technologies is profound, especially when you consider what has historically hampered each.
Industry Response and Technological Implications
Everyone from city planners to regulatory experts to engineers understand the severe disruption that Point2’s innovations would wreck on current infrastructures. This ongoing transition from outdated, passive copper solutions to dynamic, active optical solutions is one of the most important areas of focus for several companies today. Don Barnetson, senior vice president and head of product at Credo, pointed to a macro trend. He kept coming back to the point of squeezing value out of passive copper before leapfrogging to more advanced technology.
“You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.” – Don Barnetson
This strategy highlights the often-strained compromise between cost, performance, and technological reliability that data centers need to perform.
Additionally, the combination of high-capacity optical transceivers have started to see their adoption take off by major tech players like Nvidia and Broadcom. These organizations recently deployed optical transceivers that coexist within the same package as processors, highlighting a shift toward more compact and efficient computing solutions in data centers.
Future Directions in AI Training
Nvidia’s ambitious plans to increase the maximum number of GPUs per system from 72 to 576 by 2027 signify a growing appetite for faster processing capabilities. The increase in computational power requires significantly improved data transmission technologies. These changes are key to enabling seamless operation and interaction between robust systems.
AttoTude is at the forefront of this exciting technological evolution. They are focusing on breakthrough components such as digital data chips and terahertz-signal generators and mixers that fit right into Point2’s e-Tube solutions. The company’s proprietary waveguide technology is able to transmit data over long distances of up to 20 meters. This incredible innovation broadens the scope of modern data centers to do so much more.
Dave Welch, founder and CEO of AttoTude, set an ambitious vision for what’s motivating these improvements within photonics.
“Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics.” – Dave Welch
Welch’s findings illustrate the larger industry mood that even with optics there can be amazing speed, but reliability is most important. The current race ever more optical wavelengths and optical transmission mediums represents one such attempt to walk the tightrope.
“If I didn’t have to be at [an optical wavelength], where should I be?” – Dave Welch
Point2 Technology is actively working with industry partners to continuously improve their effectiveness. Together, these changes are sure to shape the future of how AI models are trained and data centers operate.
Customers’ preferences are perhaps the most loaded variable in this story. They love the efficiency of fiber optics but frequently find themselves operating in frustration with photonics technology. Welch encapsulated this sentiment succinctly:
“Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics.” – Dave Welch
This dichotomy presents both challenges and opportunities for innovators like Point2 Technology and AttoTude as they strive to deliver solutions that meet evolving demands while maintaining user satisfaction.