SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium – ISS 2026
Keynote: Reinventing the Physical Layer: The Path to the Million-XPU AI Data Center
Presenter: CEO & Founder Nick Harris
We introduce Lightmatter’s approach to reinventing the physical layer of networking, utilizing the Passage photonic interconnect platform to enable 100x more bandwidth and create “single-brain” data centers capable of linking 1,000,000 XPUs. By moving from traditional pluggables to 3D photonics, we demonstrate energy efficiencies of 2 pJ/bit with edgeless I/O. Key advancements in silicon photonics, 3D packaging, and high-density laser integration enable this transformation. Finally, we present simulation data showing how this optical interconnect architecture significantly reduces training time for massive Mixture of Experts (MoE) models compared to traditional electrical scale-up architectures.
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM
Panel: Capitalizing on Disruption
Moderator: Daniel Armbrust, Co-Founder and Director Silicon Catalyst
Panelists:
• Audrey Charles, Senior VP of Corporate Strategy and Advanced Packaging, President of Lam Capital, Lam Research
• Nick Harris, CEO, Lightmatter
• Michael Stewart, Managing Partner, M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund
• Erik Hosler, CEO and Founder, Obsidia Semiconductor
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Time: 4:05 PM
About SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium – ISS 2026:
The semiconductor industry is on a powerful trajectory toward a $1 trillion market, driven by soaring global demand, breakthrough innovation, and record-setting investment. We stand at a generational inflection point—where digital transformation, national priorities, and emerging technologies converge to redefine the role of semiconductors in the global economy. From AI and electric vehicles to next-gen computing and connectivity, chips are powering the future, and the pace of change is only accelerating.
Learn more about our solutions:
Passage L200 3D CPO (co-packaged optics) Passage M1000 Superchip (active photonic interposer)