Oxford optical computing startup Lumai awarded £1.1m grant

Oxford-based startup Lumai has been awarded a £1.1m grant from Innovate UK for its optical computing technology. Optical computers use light waves to perform computations, whereas traditional computers use electricity. Lumai is developing "all-optical neural networks" that it says are "1000x faster" compared to conventional transistor electronics. The University of Oxford spinout plans to use this approach for "next-generation" artificial intelligence (AI). "After spinning out from The University of Oxford, it's fitting that we work together on the Innovate UK project to further enhance the capabilities of these advanced optical systems," said Tim Weil, CEO, Lumai.