AI is pushing data centers to their limits, but a game-changing fiber optic innovation could be the key to unlocking ultra-fast, energy-efficient networking. UCF researchers have developed a hollow-core fiber that transmits data nearly 50% faster, setting the stage for the next generation of AI-powered infrastructure.
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Keeping pace with the speed of light isn't just a philosophy of chasing the future—for UCF alum Jason Eichenholz, it's a business.
"We're well positioned to redefine the optical network of the future," Eichenholz says.
That's the vision for Relativity Networks, founded by Eichenholz and Professor Rodrigo Amezcua Correa of UCF's College of Optics and Photonics(CREOL). As the artificial intelligence (AI) industry grows, so does its need for data processing, which requires large amounts of energy. By 2026, data centers in the U.S. are expected to consume more than twice their current energy usage, and more than 40% of facilities are expected to face power shortages by 2027.
"Currently, new data centers can't be built fast enough to satisfy the rapidly expanding AI-driven economy and the lack of available power is an existential threat to fueling that growth," Eichenholz says.
Their solution? A patent-pending hollow-core fiber (HCF) cable that can transmit data nearly 50% faster than conventional glass fiber. The company has raised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding and has already deployed the technology in multiple installations.
This large-scale innovation is familiar territory for Eichenholz, who holds more than 90 U.S. patents and was recently inducted into the National Academy of Inventors and the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida. He co-founded and served as chief technology officer of Luminar Technologies, one of the leading providers of lidar technology in driverless vehicles. As a CREOL courtesy faculty member, he also maintains close ties with UCF, which he considers a key part of the first of three "life chapters" so far.
"I thought I was closing out my 'chapter two', but when I saw this technology, I realized this chapter is still being written," Eichenholz says. "Being able to partner with UCF, which is near and dear to my heart, makes it that much better."
The Power of Hollow Core
Since HCF can move data with less delay than conventional fiber, it can travel 1.5 times farther without adding additional latency, which can throw data centers in multiple locations out of sync. Traditional fibers usually limit these centers to being within 37 miles of each other. Relativity Networks' HCF cable expands this to 56 miles.
"Basically, we are doing things you cannot do with any other conventional fibers," Amezcua Correa says.
The vision affords the new AI economy more geographic optionality for data centers, which means they can be built closer to existing power sources. Relativity Networks, already backed by multimillion-dollar contracts, aims to give the right partners the ability to scale their production rapidly.
Amezcua Correa, who originally developed the HCF used by Relativity Networks, says HCF continues to push the boundary of what's possible. "We have been working on hollow-core fibers for almost 20 years," Amezcua Correa says. "We are excited to leverage the unique optical properties of hollow core fibers to design the optical networks of the future."
A Partnership for the Future
The launch of Relativity Networks is another example of innovation fostered by industry partnerships with UCF.
"This breakthrough demonstrates a decade of dedicated research by our team," says Winston Schoenfeld, UCF's vice president for research and innovation. "UCF strongly values industry partnerships and this is a wonderful example of how collaboration between academia and industry can lead to accelerated innovation that translates into significant societal impact."
UCF is actively forging new relationships with industry partner, by matching the university's research strength and academic expertise with the strategic priorities of entities of all sizes, from brand-new startups to major corporations. This relationship fostered Relativity Networks from concept to collaboration to company.
Eichenholz says the vision for the future of photonics, or light-based technology, is shining brightly in Central Florida.
"My mantra has been 'Why not change the world?' and I think we are doing that," Eichenholz says.
About the Researchers
Eichenholz is a serial entrepreneur, executive, and recognized pioneer in laser and photonics-enabled innovation. With a Ph.D. in optical sciences and engineering from CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics at UCF, Jason has spent thirty years at the forefront of transformative technologies.
As the co-founder and former chief technology officer of Luminar Technologies, Eichenholz helped redefine autonomous vehicle safety with lidar technology. Under his leadership, Luminar became a publicly traded company on Nasdaq, raising approximately $1 billion in funding. Eichenholz's expertise in turning groundbreaking research into scalable solutions is now driving Relativity Networks' mission to revolutionize fiber optics with hollow core fiber technology.
When he's not reshaping industries, Eichenholz dedicates himself to serving others - as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, and through his greatest passion: the Jonathan's Landing Foundation, a residential community he founded for his son Jonathan and 500 other adults with autism.
Amezcua Correa is a professor at UCF's College of Optics and Photonics, where he leads the Optical Fiber and Fiber Devices Laboratory. He received his doctorate from Southampton University. After that, he joined the University of Bath and worked at Powerlase Photonics, developing industrial lasers. His main interests are advanced fiber design and fabrication, hollow core fibers, space division multiplexing optical fiber communications, high-power fiber lasers, nonlinear fiber sources, optical sensors and laser components.