xLight Raises $40 Million Led by Playground Global; Lumotive Extends Series B to $59 Million with Amazon's IIF, Secures $14 Million for Liquid Crystal Chips

U.S. semiconductor startups xLight and Lumotive have recently secured substantial funding to advance their respective technologies amid ongoing competition with China. Palo Alto-based xLight Bio raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Playground Global, with additional investments from Boardman Bay Capital Management and Morpheus Ventures. The company is focused on developing advanced laser technology critical for semiconductor manufacturing. Meanwhile, Lumotive, which develops optical chip technology capable of steering laser light as an alternative to lidar, extended its Series B funding from $45 million to $59 million. This extension includes investment from Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund. Lumotive also secured $14 million specifically for its liquid crystal beamforming chips. These funding rounds underscore the efforts of U.S. startups to innovate in key areas of semiconductor and optical technologies.