Xili Optoelectronics, the Hangzhou startup building thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic chips, has closed a fresh Pre-Series A round on the order of RMB 100 million to accelerate mass production of its next-generation optical engines. Futeng Capital led the round, joined by Shanghai Future Industry Fund, Cornerstone Capital, Greater Bay Area Fund, Skyline Capital, Shenzhen Industrial Investment and Zhiwei Intelligent.
TFLN For The AI Interconnect Squeeze
Thin-film lithium niobate has emerged as one of the most promising materials for high-speed optical modulation, offering ultra-wide bandwidth, high linearity and low insertion loss. Xili's portfolio spans multi-wavelength optical comb sources, high-speed electro-optic modulators, coherent IQ modulators and photonic-engine integration — the pieces needed to push AI-data-center interconnects from 400G lanes toward 1.6T and 3.2T systems as GPU clusters scale.
Harvard-Trained Founder And Legend Capital Bet
Xili was founded by chief scientist Wang Cheng, a Tsinghua graduate with a Harvard PhD who co-founded U.S. TFLN pioneer HyperLight before moving back to China. Earlier this year, Legend Capital led a first tranche of Pre-Series A funding into Xili, calling TFLN "the inflection point of photonic material upgrade." The new financing extends that thesis with a broader syndicate of state-backed and industrial funds.
Wafer-Scale Manufacturing Push
Proceeds are earmarked for wafer-level TFLN process iteration, mass-production verification and partnerships with optical-module makers and hyperscale data-center operators. The raise lands as investors continue to write big cheques into the AI-infrastructure stack, with peers like Crusoe, D-Robotics and QBit Semiconductor raising in the same window.
Reporting based on coverage from Tech Startups and 36Kr.