Co-packaged optics startup Ayar Labs has created a European subsidiary, Ayar Labs UK Ltd. The company also appointed Rory McInerney as an executive advisor and Terry Thorn as vice president of business development.
Thorn will replace Hugo Saleh, former vice president of business development and marketing at Ayar Labs, who will now lead the UK subsidiary as managing director. “Optical I/O will transform the computing industry, enabling the performance and scalability needed for HPC, AI, and 5G+ telecommunication,” Saleh said. “We have a number of exciting collaborations already underway. By establishing this initial office, we’re taking our first step to supporting the growing community in the UK and Europe.”
The company says it may add more sites in Europe to support customers and projects there as well. “The need for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence continues to accelerate worldwide and optical I/O is integral to achieving the performance and energy efficiency goals of these advanced systems,” commented Jack Eadie, director of Ayar Labs investor Downing Ventures UK. “This is a multi-billion-dollar global opportunity and we’re excited to see Ayar Labs’ expansion in the UK and Europe to support these fast-growing local markets.”
McInerney and Thorn both have experience at Intel (whose Intel Capital also is among Ayer Labs’ investors). McInerney spent 29-years at Intel, where he served as corporate vice president responsible for the development of Intel’s Xeon processors and adjacent products for such markets as cloud, AI, HPC, and networking. Thorn spent 24 years at Intel, including a stint as general manager of global accounts in Intel’s Cloud & Enterprise Sales Group.
Ayar Labs is developing chiplets and external laser sources for co-packaged optical applications (see “Optical interconnect startup Ayar Labs closes $35 million Series B funding round” and “Ayar Labs partners with GLOBALFOUNDRIES for optical I/O demo, expanded sampling for co-packaged optics,” as well as a brief update in our recent “OFC 2021 Show Wrap-up Video.”)
“As we grow our footprint with Ayar Labs UK Ltd and bolster our executive leadership team, we are positioning ourselves to take advantage of the growing usage and demand for in-package Optical I/O,” said Charles Wuischpard, CEO of Ayar Labs.
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About the Author
Stephen Hardy
Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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