Alphabet spins off its Taara laser-powered networking venture

Alphabet Inc. is spinning off its Taara unit, which uses laser-powered network equipment to deliver internet coverage.

The Google LLC parent disclosed the move today. Taara, which was until now part of Alphabet’s X research lab, will become an independent company.

The technology that powers Taara’s hardware was originally developed as part of another X project, Loon, that shut down in 2021. The idea was to provide internet connectivity using network equipment installed on balloons. Those balloons, which floated near the edge of space, exchanged data traffic with one another using laser beams.

Taara adapted Loon’s laser technology for use in terrestrial network equipment. The company’s flagship product, the Taara Lightbridge, is a wireless communications system about the size of a traffic light. It transmits data over the air in the form of invisible laser beams.

The Taara Lightbridge is positioned as a more accessible alternative to traditional fiber internet. Deploying fiber-optic cables is an expensive endeavor that can take years in some cases. Taara’s systems, in contrast, take a few hours to set up.

“Where fiber fails to reach, operators and service providers often turn to radio frequency to fill the gap,” Taara Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Krishnaswamy wrote in a blog post today. “However, traditional radio frequency bands are congested and running out of available bandwidth, making it harder to support 5G expansion and keep up the growing global demand for fast, reliable connectivity.”

The Taara Lightbridge encodes users’ web traffic into a laser beam about the width of a pencil. That beam can travel more than 12 miles over the air to reach a second Taara Lightbridge, which in turn relays the data to a third system and so on. Traffic hops from one node to another until it reaches the nearest telecommunication provider’s network.

To maintain a reliable connection, the data-carrying laser beam has to be precisely focused on the nearest Taara Lightbridge’s receiver. This is accomplished using a complicated array of mirrors, lenses and sensors. Taara is currently in the process of miniaturizing that optical equipment into a chip the size of a fingernail.

The company revealed its chip last month. It’s a so-called optical phased array, a system that can change the optical characteristics of its surface. Those changes modify the direction in which light exits the module, which is what allows one Taara chip to focus its laser beam onto another without the help of moving mechanical components.

Before debuting the device, Taara engineers evaluated its capabilities through a series of tests. The company successfully exchanged data between two chips deployed outdoors at a distance of about 3,200 feet from one another. The connection reached speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second.

Taara will continue enhancing the technology following its spinoff from Alphabet. The current iteration of its chip generates laser beams using an array of several hundred miniature light emitters. Taara will include thousands of such emitters in its next chip, which is expected to significantly boost bandwidth. The company plans to start shipping the technology in 2026 as part of a new wireless networking product.

To support its commercialization efforts, Taara has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Series X Capital. The company will use some of the money to grow its workforce. Given the steep costs associated with semiconductor development, it’s possible Taara will seek to raise additional funding in the near future. 

Image: Alphabet

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