Lightelligence is a pioneer in photonic AI computing, developing optoelectronic hybrid computing solutions including near-packaged optics (NPO), co-packaged optics (CPO), and photonic computing accelerator cards for AI workloads and data centers. Founded in 2017 by MIT alumni Yichen Shen and Huaiyu Meng (with co-founder/advisor Marin Soljacic), the company builds optical interconnect and optical compute products aimed at meeting surging AI compute demand. According to Frost & Sullivan, Lightelligence is the first company to achieve commercial-scale deployment of optoelectronic hybrid computing, with 44 paying customers and over 5,000 card clusters deployed. The company is headquartered in Boston with significant R&D and operations in Shanghai, China. Lightelligence (operating under Chinese entity Xizhi Technology) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 28, 2026 (ticker 1879.HK), becoming the world's first publicly traded AI silicon photonics chip company. Its IPO was 600x oversubscribed and surged 383%+ on debut, briefly exceeding a HK$80 billion (~US$10.2B) market cap.
Lightelligence is publicly traded
IPO'd on April 28, 2026
This company is no longer available on our private secondary market. Shares can be traded publicly under 1879.HK.
Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Founded
2017
Employees
250–500
Total Funding
$569M
4 rounds
Last Private Valuation
$1B
September 5, 2025
Total raised $569M across 4 rounds
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Last updated 06-25-2026
Latest Round
Type
Series C
Date
September 5, 2025
Amount
$210M
Valuation
$1B
Lead Investors
| Date | Round | Amount Raised | Valuation | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5, 2025 | Series C | $210M | $1B | China Mobile, CRHC Fund |
| July 6, 2020 | Series A+ | Not disclosed | — | CTC Capital |
| April 8, 2020 | Series A | $26M | — | Matrix Partners China, CICC |
Yichen Shen
Co-Founder & CEO
Huaiyu Meng
Co-Founder & CTO
Long Wang
Chief Operating Officer
Maurice Steinman
VP of Engineering
Marin Soljacic
Co-Founder & Advisor
Competitor list is illustrative and may be incomplete, stale, or erroneous.
Lightmatter
Photonic computing company developing Passage (optical interconnect) and Envise (photonic compute) products for AI data centers; primary US-based competitor with same MIT-photonics lineage.
Celestial AI
Develops Photonic Fabric technology decoupling memory from compute to scale AI clusters via optical interconnect.
Ayar Labs
Photonic I/O company replacing electrical SerDes with optical chiplet-based interconnects between AI servers and GPUs.
Luminous Computing
Bill Gates-backed photonic computing startup building a single large photonic supercomputer for very large AI models.
Akhetonics
All-optical general-purpose processor developer operating entirely in the optical domain without electronic signal conversion.
Xanadu
Photonic quantum computing company developing photonic chips, adjacent competitor in photonic compute.
Yes, Lightelligence is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 1879.HK on the HKEX. The company went public in April 28, 2026.
Lightelligence trades under the ticker symbol 1879.HK on the HKEX. It began trading in April 28, 2026.
Lightelligence (1879.HK on the HKEX) shares can be purchased through any standard brokerage account — including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and online platforms like Robinhood or E*TRADE. Search for the ticker 1879.HK to place an order.
Lightelligence went public in April 28, 2026 via ipo, with an offering valuation of approximately $1B. Lightelligence (via Chinese entity Xizhi Technology) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's main board on April 28, 2026 under ticker 1879.HK, raising HK$2.5 billion (approximately US$323 million) at a HK$183.2 IPO price. The offering was 600x oversubscribed and attracted 20 cornerstone investors including Alibaba, GIC, BlackRock, and Temasek (collectively ~65% of the offer). On debut the stock surged 383%+ (opening near HK$880), the largest first-day gain for a Hong Kong main board IPO in nearly a decade, briefly pushing market cap above HK$80 billion (~US$10.2B). Lightelligence is positioned as the world's first publicly traded AI silicon photonics chip company.
Lightelligence raised $569M across 4 disclosed funding rounds prior to its public listing.
Lightelligence was co-founded by Yichen Shen, Huaiyu Meng, and Marin Soljacic in 2017.
Lightelligence is headquartered in Boston, MA.
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