By: Deanna Grunfeld, Aliza Goldberg, and Isaac Sigron

Data is growing faster than the infrastructure built to move it. That tension creates both a bottleneck and an opportunity. Koch Disruptive Technologies, LLC and subsidiaries (KDT) are drawn to teams solving foundational problems with elegant, scalable solutions. Polaris is one of them.

Polaris is an optical interconnect company that is rethinking how data is transmitted and, in so doing, shaping the future of connectivity for high-performance computing and AI Infrastructure. Polaris uses a novel approach to build faster, smaller, and more efficient optical modulators, enabling a better way to move data.

Industry Background

As explained in our first primer, The Silent Bottleneck in AI Infrastructure, optical communication has become the backbone of modern data centers. At the core of this optical infrastructure are components known as optical modulators that convert electrical signals into light for data transmission. 

As AI and cloud workloads explode, the amount of data transmitted, or the bandwidth of the network, is surging, putting strain on existing optical communication infrastructure. To keep up with this increasing demand, the industry has doubled communication bandwidth every 3 to 4 years. Just a decade ago, leading data centers operated at 25 - 40 gigabits per second (Gbps), the speed at which data is transmitted. Today, leading providers like NVIDIA are deploying 200 Gbps technology at scale, but the industry is hitting a wall. 

Historically, the industry has been able to meet this rising demand by improving the components that encode and decode the data into light for transmission, optical modulators and digital signal processors (DSPs), respectively. But now, the core platform used for optical communications, silicon photonics, is reaching its physical limits. As we aim for the next generation of 400 Gbps transmission, traditional approaches can no longer deliver the required speed, energy efficiency, or scaled manufacturability.

That’s where Polaris comes in. 

Based in Colorado and spun out of the University of Colorado Boulder, Polaris is building next-generation optical modulators that combine silicon photonics with a novel liquid crystal material (Polaris FenGlass™). These mature and well-understood materials are now being applied in a novel way. Polaris’s solution combines speed, energy efficiency, reliability and manufacturability, all without requiring exotic or hard-to-scale materials.

Polaris is positioned well to become one of the few leading technologies in the next generation of optical connectivity, a market expected to grow from $14.7 billion in 2025 to over $42 billion by 2032[1].

No Exotic Materials, No Supply Chain Surprises

One of the most compelling aspects of Polaris’s approach is what it doesn’t require—no new manufacturing equipment, no novel material infrastructure, no bespoke processes. Polaris builds on standard silicon photonics, integrates post-foundry, and plugs into existing manufacturing workflows. That means faster time to market, lower risk in scaling, and a cleaner fit for hyperscalers’ supply chains.

Polaris’s technology also enables physically smaller modulators because of the materials used, giving it an important advantage in a space where every millimeter matters. Space and integration are critical for long-haul data center links and in emerging chip-to-chip Co-Packaged-Optics.

The Search for Scalable Speed

The race to 400 Gbps is clear, but this isn’t a winner-takes-all market. Hyperscalers are actively testing and maturing competing technologies through startups and existing companies to ensure they’re ready for this next wave. 

Several competing technologies are in development, including III-V materials, Barium Titanate, and electro-optic polymers, but each comes with trade-offs. III-Vs offer solid performance but are expensive and hard to integrate. Barium Titanate has promising electro-optic properties but faces integration and scalability issues. Electro-optic polymers are fast and efficient but have struggled with long-term reliability. Few solutions manage to balance performance, manufacturability, and commercial readiness.

Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) is the most mature alternative today; however, it has its own downsides. It doesn’t integrate well with silicon and has a large physical footprint. TFLN requires wafer bonding, which introduces contamination risks and adds complexity to the manufacturing process, making it harder to integrate and scale. 

Polaris sidesteps these issues entirely. Its ferroelectric liquid crystal material enables compact, silicon devices already manufacturable at scale. Unlike other materials in this space discovered by trial and error, Polaris’s technology was designed from the ground up for optical performance and long-term stability, giving it a built-in reliability edge. 

The Team

Polaris’s leadership team is led by newly appointed CEO Morten Nissov, Ph.D., with 25+ years scaling semiconductor and photonics businesses at Genuine Optics, Lumentum, and Oclaro. CTO and Co-Founder Cory Pecinovsky, Ph.D., and VP of Engineering Gianlorenzo Masini, Ph.D., hold nearly 40 patents and deep expertise in liquid crystal materials, silicon photonics, and roles at Lightwave Logic, Micron, Luxtera, and Cisco. VP of Operations and Product Integration Mark Harrison, previously at Molex and Luxtera, brings extensive experience scaling photonic technologies into volume manufacturing, critical to Polaris’s next stage of growth. Together, the team’s technical and operational depth positions Polaris to lead the next wave of optical connectivity.

Our Bet

Polaris is the kind of opportunity KDT loves to back: an ambitious solution with the potential to reshape an entire layer of digital infrastructure. Their approach is simple, grounded in years of research, and designed for scale from day one.

With the right partnerships, including Koch’s subsidiary Molex, a leading provider of optical interconnects and silicon photonics packaging, Polaris is uniquely positioned to accelerate its path to market. With strong strategic alignment, good execution, and continued technical progress, we believe Polaris can emerge as a core enabler of next-gen optical communication. We’re proud to partner with the Polaris team as they move forward with this vision.

*Sources: Polaris Electro-Optics, University of Colorado Boulder, Merck, Lightwave Logic, Cisco, Luxtera, Dell’Oro Group

About the Authors:

• Isaac Sigron leads Koch’s investments in data infrastructure globally with over 10 years of investment experience. Isaac focuses on picks and shovels solutions for the gold rush of our time – the mass adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He is a Managing Director at Koch Disruptive Technologies (Israel), Ltd, an affiliate of KDT.
• Deanna Grunfeld is an Investment Professional at Koch Disruptive Technologies (Israel), Ltd., covering AI infrastructure and deep tech, including semiconductors, optics, and software tools.
• Aliza Goldberg is an Investment Professional at Koch Disruptive Technologies (Israel), Ltd., covering data infrastructure, particularly technology in interconnect, power delivery, and hardware systems that support AI workloads.

[1] https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/optical-transceiver-market-108985