The Taara chip from Alphabet uses light beams to provide high-speed internet.

Alphabet has revealed a breakthrough in Taara technology that promises to provide low-cost, high-speed internet connectivity, even in remote locations. Mahesh Krishnaswamy, general manager of Taara, presented the new Taara chip, a silicon photonic device that enables high-speed data transmission through the air using light. This chip is the size of a fingernail, significantly smaller than the technology previously used by this Alphabet division.

The first generation of Taara technology, called Taara Lightbridge, was roughly the size of a traffic light and employed a system of mirrors and sensors to physically direct the light to its destination. In contrast, the new chip relies on software to perform this task. Taara is part of X, Alphabet's innovation factory. The high-speed wireless optical link technology that underpins this project was originally developed for the internet balloon transmissions of Project Loon, which was canceled in 2021, leading Alphabet to focus on Taara and leverage its technology to provide broadband internet across the Congo River and in the streets of Nairobi.

Years before the closure of Loon, X was already exploring the possibility of using light to transmit internet, conducting tests in India. Taara technology utilizes a "very narrow and invisible beam of light to transmit data at speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second, over distances of up to 20 kilometers." It works similarly to fiber optics in that it uses light to carry data, but instead of doing so through cables, Taara’s hardware emits beams of light. To establish a secure link that allows for data transmission, the beams from two units must align, which is why Lightbridge was equipped with the necessary components to physically guide the light. However, the new Taara chip does not require those elements as it contains hundreds of small light emitters controlled by software that enable automatic targeting.

Krishnaswamy noted that Taara transmission units will take only days to install, compared to the months or years required for laying fiber optics. During lab tests, the Taara team successfully transmitted data at speeds of 10 Gbps over a distance of one kilometer using two of the new chips. They are currently working on improving the chip's capacity and range, developing "a version with thousands of light emitters." The chip is expected to be available in 2026.