Relativity Networks has announced a partnership with Prysmian for the mass production of hollow-core optical fiber (HCF) and cabling.
The cabling will be produced to support the demands of AI data center operators.
Relativity's announcement comes a month after the company raised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding as part of plans to address the power requirements of data centers using advanced fiber optic technologies.
HCF features an air-filled center channel that is surrounded by a ring of glass tubes, akin to a honeycomb pattern. The design allows for higher capacity with minimized chromatic dispersion.
Traditional fiber-optic cables have typically limited data centers to within 60 kilometers (37 miles) of power providers - or to one another - due to latency constraints, however, HCF extends this range to 90 kilometers (56 miles).
Relativity claims that its HCF cable is already being used to expand the number of data centers operated by the hyperscalers, and claims that the technology can transmit data nearly 50 percent faster than conventional glass fiber.
The company will work with Prysmian to co-manufacture fiber and cable based on Relativity Networks' HCF technology, which was developed in collaboration with the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida.
Relativity Networks will provide connectors and hardware that ensure compatibility with existing fiber-optic interfaces.
The company's long-term partnership with Prysmian will also see Prysmian manufacture Relativity Networks' HCF at a dedicated facility located in Prysmian's production center in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
"This deal is a big breakthrough for the entire industry that has been demanding HCF cables," said Relativity Networks founder and CEO Jason Eichenholz. "It will enable us to meet a seemingly insatiable demand by hyperscalers for hollow-core fiber technology.
"With Prysmian, a recognized leader in communications and energy cable systems, we will better address the telecommunications and data center markets and provide the builders of AI-driven data centers the capabilities they've been clamoring for. The AI economy requires hollow-core fiber. This partnership enables our companies, together, to be the leading global provider of this vital technology."
HCF can transmit data nearly 50 percent faster when compared with the conventional fiber-optic cable long in use by the data industry. On top of this, it enables data to travel 1.5 times further without impacting the latency that can throw intricate multi-location data operations and applications out of sync.
HCF isn't a new technology, but interest in this area has grown vastly in recent years. In 2022, Microsoft acquired UK-based Lumenisity Limited, a manufacturer of HCF solutions.
Lumenisity was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton to commercialize its HCF technologies. The company has raised £12.5 million ($15.5m). euNetworks was a customer, while BT had conducted trials with the fiber firm. It recently opened a 40,000 sq ft (3,716 sqm) HCF manufacturing facility in Romsey, UK.
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