Eliyan Introduces NuLight™: World’s First 2D microVCSEL Interconnect Solution to the Copper Wall

Nexus™ and Oscar™ chiplets deliver high-bandwidth, long-reach optical connectivity with copper-like reliability and supply availability, supporting modular configurations from 1.6 Tbps OSFP to 12.8 Tbps XPO

Highlights

• Nexus and Oscar are Eliyan’s first NuLight chiplet products that enable optical connectivity designed for the high-bandwidth, extended reach, and low-power requirements of large AI scale-up and future scale-in systems at copper economics.
• The Nexus octal reverse gearbox converts each 212G PAM4 host link into 4 x 53G NRZ links, where each reverse gearbox path supports an independent PPM offset, enabling high-radix scale-up configurations.
• The Oscar EIC provides the driver and TIA electrical interfaces to microVCSEL and photodiode arrays, which, when combined with the Nexus chip, provide a fully retimed slow-and-wide optical solution to address the “copper wall” facing large AI systems.
• Modular 1.6Tbps slices scale to 6.4Tbps NPO and 12.8Tbps XPO configurations, with an architectural path toward co-packaged optics.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eliyan, a leader in foundational connectivity products enabling next-generation AI compute, memory, and networking systems, today introduced the Nexus™ and Oscar™ NuLight™ chiplets, the world’s first 2D microVCSEL interconnect platform designed to extend AI scale-up connectivity beyond the practical bandwidth and reach limits of copper. The platform includes Nexus, a 1.6T reverse gearbox, and Oscar, an electrical interface chip (EIC) that connects high-speed electrical interfaces to microVCSEL and photodiode optical arrays.

Together, they provide scalable building blocks for linking compute resources across large AI systems, providing the enhanced reach, low power, and high reliability that these systems demand.

Eliyan CEO and co-founder Ramin unveiled the technology at this week's OCP Summit 2026 with a presentation detailing the technology architecture and products.

Addressing the Copper Wall

As AI scale-up domains expand across multiple racks, copper connections face increasing constraints in delivering both high bandwidth and longer reach. Eliyan’s NuLight platform addresses this “copper wall” with a high-bandwidth, high-density architecture that spreads bandwidth across more optical lanes operating at lower data rates than standard PAM4 SerDes connections. Parallel non-return-to-zero (NRZ) optical signaling simplifies per-lane signal processing, enabling more power-efficient optical links than traditional optical interconnects. The microVCSEL-based architecture targets an initial optical reach of approximately 50 meters, with a design objective of combining optical reach with copper-like reliability, availability, and operating characteristics.

“Scaling AI infrastructure requires efficient, reliable connectivity that reaches beyond a single rack,” said Ramin Farjadrad, co-founder and CEO of Eliyan. “We have pioneered another breakthrough interconnect technology that we created from the ground up to solve the copper wall in the AI data center. The industry's rapid adoption of our proposed 2D microVCSEL interconnect proves Eliyan is on the right track again. With our NuLight chiplet platform, customers can scale aggregate bandwidth through reusable building blocks. At the same time, on-the-fly lane repair addresses the reliability requirements of large AI scale-up and scale-in networks. This is the next step in expanding our platform across the AI connectivity path.”

Nexus Bridges High Speed Electrical Interfaces and Parallel Optics

Designed in TSMC 3nm, Nexus combines power-efficient, configurable-reach 212G PAM4 SerDes with reverse gearbox functionality and high-speed die-to-die connectivity. Its compact footprint supports tight coupling with optical components. The reverse gearbox distributes each high-speed PAM4 electrical channel across four lower-speed NRZ channels, providing the electrical bridge to slow-and-wide optical arrays while supporting fully retimed implementations.

Nexus includes advanced telemetry with forward error correction (FEC) monitoring, termination and regeneration, as well as support for IEEE auto-negotiation and host link training. These capabilities support link diagnostics and management in dense optical systems.

Oscar Interfaces with microVCSEL and Photodiode Arrays

Oscar complements Nexus with laser-driver and TIA electrical interfaces to vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodiode arrays in very dense arrays, with state-of-the-art crosstalk cancellation and heat-management schemes.

Optical Lane Repair Supports Reliable AI Connectivity

The platform uses patented technology for its on-the-fly repair architecture that uses spare optical lanes to protect active links. If a lane degrades or fails, the architecture redirects traffic to a spare lane without interrupting link operation. Combined with link diagnostics, this capability meets a critical requirement for AI scale-up and scale-in networks, where interconnect failures cause costly downtime and interrupt massive AI processing operations.

A Modular Platform from OSFP to Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)

The NuLight platform provides a path to co-packaged optics (CPO), where future versions of Oscar will interface directly with host ASICs using die-to-die connectivity. NuLight’s microVCSEL array approach draws on mature, highly available GaAs laser technology and avoids the need for external indium-phosphide lasers in the optical engine.

Availability

Both Nexus and Oscar chiplets are sampling now.

About Eliyan

Eliyan Corporation develops advanced connectivity technologies that enable next-generation AI, cloud, and high-performance computing systems. Its portfolio of differentiated interconnect technologies, memory expansion, and chiplet solutions addresses critical bandwidth, power efficiency, and scalability challenges across modern compute infrastructure.

Eliyan’s technologies enable customers to build higher-performance systems with greater memory capacity, improved power and area efficiency, and most importantly, higher bandwidth at lower cost. For more information, visit www.eliyan.com.

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f7b02bd1-cd04-4b21-9ce9-557817fa564d