{
  "id": 13966817,
  "title": "British AI chip startup raises $125m to tackle data centre power crunch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/british-ai-chip-startup-raises-125m-to-tackle-data-centre-power-crunch",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-12T13:39:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/british-ai-chip-startup-raises-125m-to-tackle-data-centre-power-crunch/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oxford-based AI chip startup Salience Labs has secured $125 million (£94 million) in funding from investors including AMD and Intel as the demand for data centre capacity grows. The investment, led by Bullhound Capital, aims to help the British firm scale production of its photonic chips, which transmit data via light rather than electrical signals, helping to tackle the high energy consumption of data centres. Backed by AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, SBI Group, Hudson River Trading, and the British Business Bank, Salience plans to use the funds to expand manufacturing and strengthen its Silicon Valley presence as it supplies critical infrastructure for the AI boom. Unlike traditional networking equipment that relies on electrical signals, Salience's optical circuit switching technology could significantly reduce power consumption and delays in data centres by keeping data in the form of light. Vaysh Kewada, Salience's CEO and co-founder, emphasized the importance of optical switches in meeting the demands of AI workloads. The funding comes amid concerns about the electricity bottleneck facing Britain's AI ambitions, with data centre connection demand surging and the UK's electricity connection queue tripling between November 2024 and June 2025. Companies are exploring options such as building their own power generation facilities to secure power for their AI infrastructure. Salience's latest funding highlights the growing interest in British semiconductor companies developing the necessary infrastructure to support the AI industry.",
  "summary": "Oxford-based chip startup Salience Labs has raised $125m (£94m) from investors including, AMD and Intel, as the race to build AI data centres has put growing pressure on electricity supplies. The funding round, led by Bullhound Capital, is set to help the British firm scale production of its photonic chips, which use light rather than [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}