Mubadala-owned GlobalFoundries has acquired InfiniLink, a Cairo-based semiconductor startup developing silicon photonics connectivity chips for AI data centres. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal comes just months after InfiniLink raised a $10 million seed round led by Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek, alongside Sukna Ventures, Egypt Ventures, and angel investors from the US, Europe and MENA. Egypt Ventures reportedly recorded a 400% return on the exit.
Founded in 2022 by Ahmed F. Aboul-Ella and Botros George, InfiniLink designs optical transceiver chiplets (iOTC) and co-packaged optics (CPO) that use light instead of copper to move data between processors, enabling higher bandwidth and lower power consumption for AI workloads. The startup also develops SerDes components that support high-speed data transmission.
The acquisition gives GlobalFoundries specialised design capability in silicon photonics as the industry shifts toward optical connectivity to handle rapidly growing AI compute demands. The company is purchasing InfiniLink alongside Singapore-based Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF), adding both manufacturing and design depth as part of a broader photonics strategy.
In a blog post, Kevin Soukup, SVP of GlobalFoundries’ silicon photonics business, said the combined acquisitions create an end-to-end photonics roadmap for both pluggable and co-packaged optics, and accelerate development toward 400G/λ data transmission. He also pointed to future applications in sensing, LiDAR, industrial systems and quantum computing.
Egypt Ventures said InfiniLink’s acquisition shows how local founders can build IP directly relevant to global infrastructure challenges as AI data centres push existing interconnect technologies to their limits.
GlobalFoundries said the acquisition will help customers manage AI-driven bandwidth and power demands with a more integrated design-to-manufacturing photonics platform.
