James Regan, CEO of Oriole Networks: Building radically faster networks for AI

AI data centres are running into a network bottleneck as models demand more bandwidth, more connected processors and dramatically more power.James Regan, CEO of Oriole Networks, thinks the industry is still trying to scale architectures that fundamentally do not work at the size AI is heading towards. Oriole’s approach replaces electrical packet switches with photonic switching technology designed to move data optically across the data centre, with the long-term goal of connecting a million XPUs in a single hop while cutting power consumption at the same time.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:27 - What Oriole Networks is building1:48 - Why optical switching matters for AI4:50 - The network bottleneck problem7:22 - Prism Ultra and scaling AI infrastructure10:24 - Industry reaction to Prism Ultra12:49 - US vs European deep tech investors16:07 - What James does differently as a repeat founder20:27 - Spinning companies out of universities24:15 - Why founders should avoid weak early deals25:53 - Recognising bad VC deals as a repeat founder