--- 格式版本: 2 标题: "SDN pioneer joins $3.3B startup building optical interconnects for AI infrastructure" 原文链接: "https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/sdn-pioneer-joins-33b-startup-building-optical-interconnects-for-ai-infrastructure/" 发布日期: "2026-08-04" 发布时间校准状态: "found" 发布时间需复核: "否" 发布时间来源: "llm:local:strict_original_body" 发布时间证据: "August 04, 2026 ByBen WodeckiHave your say" 发布时间校准原因: "正文标题下方明确标注发布日期为 August 04, 2026，符合最高优先级规则。" 发布时间校准置信度: "1" 发布时间候选数量: 34 发布时间严格候选数量: 12 发布时间原页读取状态: "source template page reused from URL open" 发布时间未找到原因: "" 发布时间校准时间: "2026-08-28T16:28:36+08:00" 发布时间仲裁状态: "confirmed" 发布时间仲裁尝试次数: 1 发布时间仲裁耗时毫秒: 197278 发现时间: "2026-08-28T16:22:52+08:00" 入库时间: "2026-08-28T08:32:25.092Z" 来源平台: "SDxCentral 搜索" 搜索渠道: "source_template" 搜索词: "site:sdxcentral.com SRAM" 匹配关键词: - "AI" - "HBM" - "SRAM" - "performance" - "latency" - "bandwidth" 相关厂家: - "NVIDIA" - "Meta" 相关专家: [] 内容类型: "网页" 抓取工具: "Jina Reader" 清洗工具: "Jina Reader Markdown + Defuddle/Readability 正文提取" 原始附件: [] AI优质: "否" AI打分: 74 AI分档: "召回候选" AI质检状态: "不通过" AI打分理由: "正文主线是Olix面向AI推理的机架级光互连与专用芯片架构，新增3.12亿美元融资、33亿美元估值、McKeown入董事会及计划于次年下半年向首批客户交付等事实；并描述芯片间光连接、跨机架确定性编译调度和SRAM路线。SDxCentral属专业媒体，但关键技术与交付信息主要来自公司及高管表述，缺少量化带宽、时延、功耗、实测和具名客户。固定知识库未见该Olix事件的重复证据，但未命中不能证明首次出现。当前页面正文完整且具有架构增量，然而当前动作仍以融资和人员加入为主，产品未具名、客户未披露、量产验证不足，命中关键部件融资故事的原则性否决，最高74分。" AI质检模型: "gpt-5.6-sol" AI质检时间: "2026-08-28T16:32:39+08:00" AI主题相关性: 17 AI来源权威性: 11 AI新颖性: 15 AI技术细节: 14 AI商业部署信号: 9 AI完整性: 8 AI评分提示词版本: "v17-精简生产版" AI评分提示词SHA256: "48fb9777f386026761b4873eaff30807694fb11e9b352d7c69bf2dfde750cc7d" AI评分知识库版本: "knowledge_base_v1-20260819+runtime.19" AI评分知识库SHA256: "d16bec5d70a665c5a7f45ac9fcbbee21cac06ddf9a5816bccb30c34ebd475408" AI评分知识库检索词: "[\"SRAM\",\"site:sdxcentral.com SRAM\",\"HBM\",\"rack-scale\",\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"NVIDIA\",\"Meta\",\"Intel\",\"SDN\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"]" AI评分知识库命中: "[{\"id\":\"july-correct-0018\",\"title\":\"AMD, Cerebras partner on joint Helios rack-scale AI inference platform\",\"sourceType\":\"labeled_article\",\"time\":\"2026-07\",\"matchedTerms\":[\"SRAM\",\"rack-scale\",\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"NVIDIA\",\"Meta\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"],\"rank\":-18.44076287053267},{\"id\":\"runtime-3dcabc270e938e0c3b6d5245\",\"title\":\"Nvidia wants to bypass the CPU with an open-source AI storage overhaul\",\"sourceType\":\"ai_excellent_article\",\"time\":\"2026-08-06\",\"matchedTerms\":[\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"NVIDIA\",\"Meta\",\"Intel\",\"SDN\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"],\"rank\":-18.317504343505718},{\"id\":\"runtime-bfe02a4bdf19930993595f4a\",\"title\":\"SK Hynix, Sandisk unveil first standard for high-bandwidth flash\",\"sourceType\":\"ai_excellent_article\",\"time\":\"2026-08-04\",\"matchedTerms\":[\"HBM\",\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"Meta\",\"SDN\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"],\"rank\":-15.820502797374179},{\"id\":\"runtime-5095d81c147567ab9111181d\",\"title\":\"Meta’s custom transport protocol embraces packet chaos to boost AI throughput\",\"sourceType\":\"ai_excellent_article\",\"time\":\"\",\"matchedTerms\":[\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"Meta\",\"Intel\",\"SDN\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"],\"rank\":-15.79920822515878},{\"id\":\"runtime-b175fab8e5f6873dd59a7e63\",\"title\":\"Marvell targets AI memory woes with inference-boosting Bravera controller\",\"sourceType\":\"ai_excellent_article\",\"time\":\"2026-08-05\",\"matchedTerms\":[\"RAS\",\"GPU\",\"NVIDIA\",\"Meta\",\"SDN\",\"URL\",\"SDxCentral\"],\"rank\":-15.748466571088144}]" AI摘要: "SDN先驱Nick McKeown加入估值33亿美元的AI基础设施初创公司Olix董事会。该公司由Thiel fellow James Dacombe创立，主打光互连与定制芯片实现低延迟AI推理，近期完成3.12亿美元B轮融资。" AI摘要模型: "ali-deepseek-v4-flash" AI摘要时间: "2026-09-07T02:08:29.321Z" 采集批次: "2026年8月28日16点22分01秒" 采集批次ID: "20260828-162201-542" 去重键: "https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/sdn-pioneer-joins-33b-startup-building-optical-interconnects-for-ai-infrastructure" --- Title: SDN pioneer joins $3.3B startup building optical interconnects for AI infrastructure URL Source: https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/sdn-pioneer-joins-33b-startup-building-optical-interconnects-for-ai-infrastructure/ Markdown Content: This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. 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Search Suggestions [READ: How Meta re-engineered its storage stack for AI](https://www.sdxcentral.com/resources/the-storage-supplement/) * [Home](https://www.sdxcentral.com/) * [News](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/) * [The Networking Channel](https://www.sdxcentral.com/network-sdn/) # SDN pioneer joins $3.3B startup building optical interconnects for AI infrastructure Thiel Foundation fellow-led startup entices Nicira, Barefoot Networks co-founder to lend networking expertise August 04, 2026 By[Ben Wodecki](https://www.sdxcentral.com/profile/ben-wodecki/)[Have your say](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/sdn-pioneer-joins-33b-startup-building-optical-interconnects-for-ai-infrastructure/#comments) [Facebook](https://www.sdxcentral.com/#facebook)[Twitter](https://www.sdxcentral.com/#twitter)[LinkedIn](https://www.sdxcentral.com/#linkedin)[Reddit](https://www.sdxcentral.com/#reddit)[Email](https://www.sdxcentral.com/#email)[Share](https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdxcentral.com%2Fnews%2Fsdn-pioneer-joins-33b-startup-building-optical-interconnects-for-ai-infrastructure%2F&title=SDN%20pioneer%20joins%20%243.3B%20startup%20building%20optical%20interconnects%20for%20AI%20infrastructure%20-%20SDxCentral) ![Image 3: Generic fiber network cable](./assets/img-888ad064.webp) – Getty Images Arm and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings are among investors to have lent backing to Olix, an AI infrastructure startup that counts one of the pioneers of software-defined networking (SDN) on its board. The London-based startup was founded in 2024 by Thiel Foundation fellow James Dacombe. The firm aims to build “the infrastructure for frontier AI inference” with specialized chips built around an optical interconnect it claims provides "ultra-low-latency performance." Olix raised $312 million in a Series B round that included venture capital giants Fundomo and Hudson River, with the firm adding that existing investors increased their commitments. The funds valued Olix at $3.3 billion and will be used to ensure deliveries are shipped to Olix’s first customers by the second half of next year, build out its wider custom silicon platform, and to hire staff across its locations in London and Bristol, England; Austin, Texas; Toronto; and San Francisco. Olix also added Nick McKeown to its board of directors. Longtime readers will know McKeown as one of the minds that helped coin SDN following work at Stanford University. McKeown later found Nicira Networks, which [VMware snapped up](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/vmware-acquires-nicira-for-126b-news-roundup-and-responses/) in 2012, and Barefoot Networks, which [Intel acquired in 2019](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/intel-buys-barefoot-networks-boosts-data-center-interconnect/). In a [LinkedIn post](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nick-mckeown-4902716_i-am-really-happy-to-join-the-board-of-directors-share-7489980952354611201-ybQ0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAB77WY0BoVw4HAZ8qXeMBPsQ5oeCHSmHqRI), McKeown said it was a combination of confidence in Dacombe and the need for networks to boost inference performance that caught his attention. “Inference is bounded by moving data, not by arithmetic," McKeown wrote. "Olix’s approach stands out because they refuse to treat the chip, the interconnect, and the compiler as separate problems. Designing them together, with light doing what copper no longer can, is how you get a step change instead of just another increment. It was their creative full systems thinking that got me involved.” Olix’s so-called “slow and wide” optical interconnect moves data directly between chips using light instead of copper. While several firms are already making headway in the optical interconnect space, the British startup is looking at the idea at the rack-scale level “across every part of the link.” Each workload is scheduled across racks by a fully deterministic compiler, an approach not too dissimilar from that seen in Nvidia’s [Groq 3 language processing unit (LPU)](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/nvidia-bets-big-on-bandwidth-with-groq-3-lpu-to-complement-gpus/). Like the Nvidia Groq chip or Cerebras’ wafer-scale lines, Olix is backing static random-access memory (SRAM) – fast on-chip memory – to provide lower latency when running an AI model. The startup said its choice means it can potentially scale given the lack of supply-chain-constrained high-bandwidth memory (HBM). “Olix's mission is to build the infrastructure for frontier AI. Instead of forcing a single chip to do everything, we build specialized silicon and an optical network to connect it, unrolling models across racks like an assembly line,” Dacombe wrote in a [LinkedIn post](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jamesdacombe_we-are-excited-to-announce-olixs-312m-series-share-7489897578931662848-TQJs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAB77WY0BoVw4HAZ8qXeMBPsQ5oeCHSmHqRI). “A different answer to the industry's supply chain constraints, built on components available at scale today.” Stay ahead of the latest networking channel trends. Subscribe to SDxCentral. [Create an Account to Subscribe Now](https://www.sdxcentral.com/create-your-free-sdx-central-account-today/)