Nvidia VP Simona Jankowski Joins Chip Startup Lightmatter As Finance Chief

Nvidia Corp. NVDA Vice President Simona Jankowski has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer at Lightmatter Inc., a chip startup aiming to capitalize on the AI computing boom.

Jankowski wasn’t planning to leave Nvidia until she encountered the opportunity at Lightmatter, reported Bloomberg.

Jankowski, who spent nearly seven years at Nvidia overseeing investor relations and strategic finance, announced her departure from the company last month.

The Mountain View, California-based startup is revolutionizing computing by enabling chips to communicate using light, potentially increasing speed and efficiency. “It’s just about the only opportunity that I would have left Nvidia for,” she said, which the report quoted.

Lightmatter is expanding the use of silicon photonics technology, which replaces traditional copper wire connections with optical linkages.

While promising, the technology has faced manufacturing scale challenges. According to Nick Harris, Lightmatter’s co-founder and CEO, the company has gained significant market traction and its products will soon be deployed in some of the world’s largest data centers.

Also Read: Nvidia Supplier’s Parent Company Pledges $56B Investment In AI, Chip Tech By 2026 As Competition From Samsung, Micron Heats Up

Lightmatter has raised approximately $500 million from investors, including GV, the firm formerly known as Google Ventures.

The company is nearing self-sustainability but will continue leveraging available capital to prioritize growth. Founded in 2017, Lightmatter raised $155 million last year at a $1.2 billion valuation, per the report.

Harris believes the company has the potential to surpass Mellanox Technologies, which Nvidia acquired in 2020 for around $7 billion.

Jankowski’s blend of technical expertise and financial acumen is expected to be a significant asset for Lightmatter.

Price Action: NVDA shares are trading higher by 0.30% at $123.91 at last check Monday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Read Next:

• Nvidia Partner Lambda Labs In Talks To Raise $800M To Expand AI Infrastructure And Meet Soaring Demand For GPUs And Cloud Services