Lightmatter Names Top Google TPU Engineer Richard Ho as VP of Hardware Engineering

August 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM EDT

As one of the original architects of Google’s Cloud TPU, Ho joins Lightmatter after 8 years to address the looming energy power wall of AI and machine learning with photonic solutions

Lightmatter, the leader in photonic computing, has named its new Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Richard Ho, who spent nearly 9 years at Google leading the revolutionary Cloud Tensor Processing Units (TPU) project. Ho will spearhead Lightmatter’s chip engineering division, with a focus on developing and deploying Lightmatter’s state-of-the-art photonic AI accelerator and wafer-scale interconnect for faster and cleaner computing solutions at scale.

Ho was one of the earliest engineers on the Google Cloud TPU project, most recently serving as the Senior Director of Engineering. He was able to bring the Google TPU from concept to reality – using revolutionary silicon breakthroughs to power advanced machine learning applications, fueling top consumer applications such as Google Translate, Gmail, and Assistant.

“In many ways, Richard’s previous work on the Google TPU project inspired our founding team at Lightmatter to build the products we have today and push the industry forward. We’re honored to welcome him to the team,” said Nick Harris, co-founder and CEO of Lightmatter. “With expertise at the intersection of hardware and software, Richard will be a huge asset as we approach historic milestones this year. He’ll be at the helm of executing our chip strategy, helping us expand the footprint of photonic computing globally.”

Lightmatter’s vision is to bring photonic computing out of the lab and into data centers this year, with faster, cooler, and more energy efficient computing and interconnect solutions. The company’s photonic AI accelerator product line, Envise, and programmable photonic interconnect product, Passage, are set to directly address fundamental challenges related to performance scaling and energy efficiency in next-generation accelerated compute systems. Ho’s expertise bringing revolutionary technology to market will be critical as Lightmatter approaches a moment in time where this technology becomes ready for real world applications.

“Advances in AI and machine learning will slow down unless we develop new solutions that can be deployed at scale. The products Lightmatter is developing are ground breaking,” said Richard Ho, newly appointed Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Lightmatter. “I’m excited to be a part of the company that’s completely changing the way the industry is approaching power constraints, and am incredibly impressed with the results the team has already produced.”

Lightmatter recently announced other high-profile hires, appointing Ritesh Jain as the new VP of Engineering, Systems and Packaging, formerly Intel; Jessie Zhang as VP of Finance, formerly Apple; and Steve Klinger as VP of Product, formerly Innovium. Top talent such as these are proof that the semiconductor and chip industry recognize the need for a more sustainable, faster, and more dynamic computing solution for the future.

About Lightmatter

Lightmatter is delivering a new paradigm in semiconductor chip architecture and the next transition for large-scale computing. The company has developed photonic processors that are faster, more efficient and cooler than any conventional processors in existence today and is answering the call for increased compute speed, low energy density, and reduced chip heating. Lightmatter is set to enable the continued rapid growth of artificial intelligence computing while minimizing its well-known and growing impact on the environment.