Relativity Networks raised $22 million through a SAFE financing and secured a $40 million follow-on order from a major hyperscaler as it scales its ChronoCore hollow-core fiber technology for geographically distributed AI infrastructure.
The financing more than doubled Relativity Networks’ original target and included new investors Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures and Faster Than Glass.
The commercial order followed the hyperscaler’s successful testing of ChronoCore to connect two data centers. Relativity Networks did not identify the customer.
The company is developing optical networking infrastructure intended to address one of the emerging challenges facing large-scale AI deployments: connecting computing resources across increasingly distant locations without incurring the same latency associated with conventional glass fiber.
Relativity Networks said ChronoCore carries light roughly 47% faster than traditional solid-core glass fiber.
That speed advantage lets operators place data centers farther apart while staying within the same network latency budget.
The company believes this capability is becoming increasingly important as hyperscalers seek locations with enough electrical power to support rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.
Rather than scaling entirely within a single large data center or campus, AI infrastructure is increasingly being distributed across multiple locations where power is available.
Relativity Networks describes this transition as the “AI Geography Era.”
The company calls the unavoidable latency created by geographic distance the “Propagation Tax,” arguing that the issue cannot be eliminated through switches, software or networking protocols alone.
Relativity Networks is attempting to address that constraint at the physical networking layer through ChronoCore.
The technology uses hollow-core fiber that guides light primarily through air rather than conventional solid glass, allowing information to travel closer to the speed of light in a vacuum.
Alongside the financing and hyperscaler contract, Relativity Networks announced a manufacturing milestone with Prysmian.
The companies produced their highest-density hollow-core fiber cable to date, incorporating 24 fibers into a single 10-millimeter cable.
Testing conducted with Dura-Line demonstrated that the cable could be installed in standard microducts, providing evidence that the higher-density configuration can work with existing deployment infrastructure.
The cable creates 24 low-latency pathways designed to connect AI data centers across greater distances.
ChronoCore fiber is produced at Prysmian’s facility in Eindhoven, Netherlands, with cable manufacturing taking place at Prysmian’s plant in Claremont, North Carolina.
Coupler work, fiber characterization and installation training are conducted in Orlando, Florida.
The partnership with Prysmian provides Relativity Networks with an established manufacturing infrastructure as it moves from technology development toward larger commercial deployments.
The $40 million hyperscaler follow-on order represents an important commercial validation following the customer’s initial testing of the technology.
Relativity Networks is positioning ChronoCore as an infrastructure layer that could allow hyperscalers to expand the geographic area available for AI data center construction without sacrificing network latency requirements.
Rhapsody Venture Partners said the approximately 47% increase in light propagation speed can allow distributed sites to be placed substantially farther apart within equivalent latency constraints, potentially more than doubling the geographic area available for data center development.
The new financing will support Relativity Networks as it moves further into commercial deployment and responds to demand from AI infrastructure operators.
The company has also released a white paper titled The AI Geography Era, examining how electrical power availability and physical distance are changing the architecture of large-scale AI infrastructure.
KEY QUOTES:
“AI is no longer scaling inside a data center. It is scaling across geography.”
“The next great AI infrastructure challenge is making thousands of distributed GPUs behave like one machine, even when the power they depend on is miles apart. ChronoCore is purpose built for that world, giving hyperscalers the low-latency connectivity needed to scale AI wherever power is available.”
Jason Eichenholz, Founder and CEO of Relativity Networks
“Relativity Networks changes where AI infrastructure can be built. Power availability is the key constraint on data center placement.”
“ChronoCore carries light roughly 47% faster than solid-core glass fibers, so distributed sites can sit that much farther apart within the same latency budget, more than doubling the area an operator can build in. It’s deployed today, validated with partners like Prysmian, and the order book is well ahead of our expectations. We’re thrilled.”
Carsten Boers, Managing Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners
“As AI continues to reshape the digital economy, new approaches to infrastructure will be needed to support growing performance, scale and connectivity requirements.”
“Investing in innovative companies helping address these challenges is an important part of Bell Ventures’ strategy. Relativity Networks has assembled a strong team and a bold vision for the future of AI infrastructure, and we are pleased to support the company’s next stage of growth.”
Martin Cossette, Head of Bell Ventures
