Big Bets on AI and Optical Tech Shape 2026 Funding Surge

Three companies just closed major funding rounds to push AI and telecom tech forward in 2026. Eliyan Corporation raised $145 million in a Series C round. This puts their valuation at $1 billion. The round was led by Seligman Ventures and included Cisco Investments and Lumentum.

Eliyan is working on optical interconnects. Their new product, NuLink-XD, is a 224G PAM4 SerDes chip. It is built on TSMC’s advanced 3nm process. Eliyan announced this product on July 24, 2026, just days before they closed their funding round on July 29. This chip aims to move data faster and more efficiently with optical technology.

Meanwhile, Multiverse Computing secured a much larger Series C round of $570 million, or €500 million. Their valuation reached $1.7 billion (€1.5 billion) before this round. The funding was co-led by Forgepoint Capital International, BNPP SIVF, and Bullhound Capital. Multiverse is focused on AI and quantum software that makes large language models much smaller.

Their platform can reduce model sizes by 80 to 95 percent. This shrinkage lets powerful AI run on smartphones, factory floors, and private data centers without cloud connections. CEO Enrique Lizaso said, “We have proven that AI can run at full performance on a smartphone, inside a sovereign data center, on a factory floor with no cloud connection.” He added, “The AI industry has accepted a false constraint for years — that powerful models require expensive infrastructure.”

Multiverse’s revenue grew more than 10 times since their Series B in June 2025. They also reported a 96-fold year-over-year sales growth in the first quarter of 2026. Their models are now deployed across millions of devices and systems.

Sent’s Messaging Platform Gains Momentum

Sent raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Companyon Ventures. Other investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, UIF, and CP Overture. Sent is a licensed telecom carrier in the United States. Their platform can reach more than 1 billion phone numbers with mapped channel preferences.

Daniel Vataj, Sent’s CEO and co-founder, explained their approach: “Sent reverses that model: tell us who you need to reach, and our platform determines where they are reachable, routes the message through the right channel, and handles the compliance and carrier complexity underneath it.”

Sent supports more than 20,000 developers and product teams routing traffic. Andrew Felbinger noted, “Sent’s growth reflects real product-market fit, not sentiment. A billion phone numbers and more than 20,000 developers and product teams routing traffic through Sent tell you enterprises are switching because Sent solves a problem that costs them real money.”

Betim Drenica added, “The next generation of messaging infrastructure has to make complexity disappear without sacrificing control.” Kent Bennett praised the team, saying, “Daniel, Betim and their team have created the orchestration layer to power the next generation of business communications.”

Looking Ahead

These funding rounds highlight a clear push toward more efficient AI and communication technologies. Eliyan’s optical chip, Multiverse’s compact AI models, and Sent’s messaging platform all tackle big challenges in tech infrastructure. Each company is betting on smarter, faster, and simpler solutions.

With key investors like Cisco and Lumentum backing Eliyan, and Forgepoint and BNPP supporting Multiverse, the stakes are high. Sent’s rapid growth shows businesses want easier ways to reach customers. These moves set the stage for new tech breakthroughs in the months ahead.

Keep an eye on the event in San Francisco from October 13 to 15, 2026. It will be a key moment for these companies to showcase their progress and next steps.

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