Point2 Technology, an emerging startup based in Portland, OR, is having an exciting impact on the data center connectivity market with its innovative Point-to Patch cable solution. Smartphone industry veterans from Marvell, Nvidia and Samsung launched Point2 Technology nine years ago. They are designed to address the increasing need for fast and reliable data transfer at high speeds in today’s data centers. The company has been on a roll lately, having recently raised $55 million in new venture funding. Powerful support came from veteran companies such as Molex, a leading manufacturer of computer cables and connectors.
The company’s innovative e-Tube cables are engineered to carry more than 200 gigabits of data per second, leveraging eight e-Tube fibers. Point2 Technology’s e-Tube cables provide a serious game changer. They fit in 1/2 the space of a 32 gauge copper cable and can reach up to 20 times further. This unusual design ingenuity quickly positions Point2 Technology as an unstoppable juggernaut of innovation in the research and development galaxy of ever-changing data center technology.
Cutting-Edge Technology and Efficiency
Point2 Technology’s cables provide the best performance and make the smart choice for efficiency. This system consumes just a third of the energy required by conventional optical systems. It’s available at only one-third of the price! It has a record-breaking reduction in latency. This enables data transmission speeds that are up to one-thousandth of the latency currently experienced in alternative solutions.
The e-Tube cables can carry a signal over distances of 10 to 20 meters without major degradation in the data quality. These devices all-in-one silicon chip. By converting incoming digital data to modulated millimeter-wave frequencies, it maximizes the efficiency of data transfer. With antennas fully integrated within the system, these antennas radiate signals inside a waveguide, providing maximum performance for a range of applications.
David Kuo is vice president of product marketing and business development at Point2 Technology. He emphasized the ways their advances could have an outsized impact on the operation of data centers. “Our technology could have a big advantage over optical tech in such a transceiver-processor package,” he stated, highlighting the importance of their advancements in meeting the growing demands of data centers.
Industry Dynamics and Future Prospects
Businesses such as Nvidia are preparing for big investments. By 2027, they intend to raise that maximum number of GPUs per system to 576, so efficient data transmission is more important than ever. Whether it’s electric vehicles, rail expansion, or urban air mobility, this predicted increase in mobility demands a quicker, smarter, more equitable approach to connectivity.
Don Barnetson, credosenior vice president and head of product, added that continued performance must be maintained. This gets even more important as data centers keep getting bigger. “You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can,” he remarked. This observation underscores the transition many data centers will need to make to accommodate growing demands for bandwidth and speed.
Point2 Technology is preparing to start production of chips used in a new undersea cable capable of 1.6 terrabits-per-second and with eight thin polymer waveguides. Industry experts are watching this development very closely, with bated breath to see how it will change connectivity standards across data centers.
Market Reception and Customer Feedback
Early customer response to Point2 Technology’s products has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. They are enthusiastic about the opportunities these new submarine cables now afford them. “Customers love fiber. What they hate is the photonics,” said Dave Welch, an industry expert who has observed trends in data center technology. That feeling speaks to a deeper, systemic trouble in the industry—an ongoing tug-of-war between expediting performance and ensuring reliability.
Welch pointed out that “electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics.” This preference for electronics over optics is particularly important for organizations looking to maintain seamless operations amid rising demands for data transmission.
Furthermore, Welch highlighted the scalability potential presented by Point2 Technology’s innovations, noting that the distance capabilities “happens to be a beautiful distance for scale-up in data centers.” This scalability is especially important today, as organizations of all types and sizes look for solutions that can scale to meet their increasing needs.