KOTURA

Kotura, Inc. operated as a specialized designer and manufacturer of silicon photonic circuits, before its acquisition by Mellanox Technologies in 2013. Founded in 2004, the company focused on integrating a wide range of optical and optoelectronic functions onto a single silicon chip, creating application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). This approach targeted the inherent limitations of traditional electrical conductors by using light to transfer data, which significantly increases speed while reducing heat and energy consumption.

The company's business model centered on producing these high-speed optical interconnects for a client base that included firms in the telecommunications, high-performance computing (HPC), and data center sectors. Kotura provided custom chip design, fabrication, and packaging services, owning a substantial intellectual property portfolio with over 120 granted or pending patents in CMOS photonics and packaging design. A key product was its 100G optical engine, which enabled data transfer rates of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) and was designed for the compact QSFP+ form factor. The firm operated both its own fabrication facility and partnered with a major Japanese semiconductor foundry to ensure it could scale production to meet market demand.

A significant milestone in Kotura's history was its acquisition by Mellanox Technologies (now part of NVIDIA) on August 15, 2013, for approximately $82 million in cash. This strategic acquisition was driven by Mellanox's goal to own and control critical silicon photonics technology to develop next-generation InfiniBand and Ethernet solutions capable of 100Gbps speeds and beyond. The deal allowed Mellanox to enhance its end-to-end interconnect solutions for the growing demands of Web 2.0, cloud, and data center applications. Following the acquisition, Kotura's facility in Monterey Park, California, became Mellanox's first R&D center in the United States, and its existing product lines were retained to ensure customer continuity. Keywords: silicon photonics, optical interconnect, optoelectronics, ASIC, data center interconnect, high-speed networking, Mellanox, interconnect solutions, CMOS photonics, optical engine, QSFP+, wavelength division multiplexing, WDM, high-performance computing, fiber optics, optical transceivers, semiconductor manufacturing, InfiniBand, Ethernet solutions, optical connectivity