French research institute CEA-Leti has announced a three-year programme aimed at speeding up high-performance computing for artificial intelligence through microLED-based data links.
The initiative, unveiled at SEMICON Europa in Munich, seeks to bring together players across the microelectronics supply chain, from microLED and photonics manufacturers to chipmakers, system integrators, and hyperscalers.
The lab-to-fab programme, set to begin in January 2026, aims to address the growing mismatch between compute power and interconnect performance.
“Supercomputers demand ever-faster communication links with very high energy efficiency and ultra-low latency—but interconnect performance is lagging behind compute power,” said CEA-Leti Chief Executive Sébastien Dauvé. “That gap calls for a paradigm shift capable of boosting high-performance computing speed by orders of magnitude.”
Current data transfer technologies rely on slower copper interconnects or expensive laser-based solutions. MicroLEDs, by contrast, offer high-speed, energy-efficient optical links that are compatible with standard silicon processes and easily scalable for mass production. According to a recent Microsoft report on its MOSAIC optical-link system, microLEDs “achieve 10× the reach of copper, reduce power consumption by up to 68%, and offer 100× higher reliability than today’s optical links.”
CEA-Leti has been developing microLED technology for more than 15 years, amassing around 100 patents. Its new programme will establish a shared technical roadmap, define milestones and deliverables, and leverage the combined expertise of its industrial partners to tackle bottlenecks in power and data density that currently limit next-generation computing.
Dauvé described microLEDs as “a true paradigm shift for short-range optical, point-to-point data interconnects… scalable for massive parallel communication.” He will expand on the programme’s objectives during a talk at today’s CxO Summit at SEMICON Europa.
CEA-Leti, a Grenoble-based institute with offices worldwide, specialises in miniaturisation technologies across microelectronics, nanotechnologies, and energy-efficient solutions. The institute has launched 80 startups and holds more than 3,200 patents, positioning it as a key player in translating scientific research into industrial applications.
