SAN JOSE, CA, Oct 27, 2025 – Astera Labs has entered into an agreement to acquire aiXscale Photonics GmbH. The acquisition will combine aiXscale’s fiber-to-chip coupling expertise with Astera Labs’ connectivity and signal-processing portfolio to advance photonic scale-up solutions. The acquisition will develop photonic connectivity solutions that improve speed, power efficiency, and integration for AI infrastructure systems.
“The transition to AI Infrastructure 2.0 demands purpose-built optical solutions that can handle the complexity and capacity needs of future scale-up networks,” said Sanjay Gajendra, COO and president of Astera Labs. “This acquisition will bring critical talent and advanced photonic technology that, when combined with our fabric switch and signal conditioning expertise, will unleash the full potential of rack-scale AI deployments.”
“Our optical I/O precision glass coupler technology has been developed specifically to solve the key challenge of efficiently coupling light between photonic integrated circuits and optical fibers in high-density applications,” said Jeremy Witzens, CEO and co-founder of aiXscale Photonics.
“Joining Astera Labs will allow us to deploy and scale this technology as part of a comprehensive photonic solution that will help define the future of AI infrastructure connectivity,” said Florian Merget, co-founder of aiXscale Photonics.
Source: Astera Labs
About Astera Labs
Astera Labs, established in 2017 and headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, is a fabless semiconductor company that designs connectivity solutions for AI and cloud infrastructure. Its product line includes PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet-based devices such as retimers, memory controllers, smart cable modules, and fabric switches. These are integrated with COSMOS, a system management and optimization software platform. Astera Labs targets high-performance computing environments, supporting hyperscalers and OEMs that require low-latency, high-throughput data interconnects. The company’s architecture emphasizes flexibility and system-level interoperability across modern data center networks. In fiscal year 2024, it reported $396.3 million in revenue. Astera Labs employs about 440 people. Its platform supports scalable data movement for workloads with high memory and compute demands, such as those found in AI and cloud infrastructure.
About aiXscale Photonics
aiXscale Photonics GmbH, founded in 2017, is a Germany-based company that develops optical glass interposers and packaging solutions for photonic integrated circuits. Headquartered in Aachen, the company originated as a spinout from RWTH Aachen University’s Institute of Integrated Photonics. Its technology focuses on wafer-scale glass molding and precision assembly for high-volume manufacturing. aiXscale serves data center, telecommunications, and HPC industries.