Lucidean, a Santa Barbara–based AI interconnect startup, has raised $18 million in Seed funding and appointed photonics veteran Dr. James Raring as its Chief Executive Officer. The move supports the company’s push to commercialize next-generation coherent optical links for data centers.
The Seed round was co-led by Entrada Ventures and Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT). Other participants included Foothill Ventures, M Ventures, Cerberus Ventures, and Raptor Group. Lucidean said the funding will be used to expand research and development, validate the performance and efficiency of its CohZero platform, and accelerate productization.
Data centers today face a clear tradeoff. Intensity-modulation direct-detection (IMDD) links are low cost and simple but limited in reach. Traditional coherent links offer higher performance but rely on complex, power-hungry, and expensive hardware. As AI and machine learning workloads scale, both approaches are reaching their limits.
Lucidean’s CohZero architecture is designed to eliminate this tradeoff. The platform introduces a new class of coherent optical interconnects built for use in existing data center environments. According to the company, CohZero operates entirely within the IMDD ecosystem. It uses IMDD-class lasers already in widespread use, simplified digital signal processors, and standard pluggable module formats.
The architecture supports both retimed and non-retimed applications, including co-packaged optics. At the same time, it delivers coherent-class link budgets, higher data rates, and improved tolerance to fiber impairments. This allows hyperscale operators to scale bandwidth without tight wavelength control or the overhead of traditional coherent DSPs.
“CohZero delivers coherent-class performance within the simplicity and power envelope of IMDD,” said Dr. Alexander Fang, Managing Partner at Entrada Ventures. He added that the technology addresses a critical gap as AI-scale networking outpaces legacy optical solutions.
Dr. James Raring brings more than 20 years of experience in photonics and optical communications. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Kyocera SLD Laser, where he led the commercialization of high-brightness GaN laser light sources. Earlier in his career, he developed the first single-chip 40 Gb/s all-optical transceiver and holds more than 300 patents.
“AI networks are outgrowing legacy optical approaches,” Raring said. “CohZero delivers coherent-class optical links with zero overhead.”
Lucidean was founded by Co-CTOs Dr. Hector Andrade and Dr. Aaron Maharry, along with academic co-founders Dr. Clint Schow and Dr. Larry Coldren. With fresh capital and new leadership, the company aims to accelerate hardware validation and position CohZero as a scalable, cost- and power-efficient interconnect for next-generation AI and cloud data centers.
