A typical computer shuttles electricity along copper traces, and every operation is a queue: first one thing, then another. Light works differently. In a single beam, you can mix dozens of signals without them interfering, like different voices in a choir, singing at once but each heard distinctly.

The new FieldCore chip uses five such "voices" at once. The first is the beam's color: different wavelengths carry different data. The second is a radio wave that modulates the light. The third is the shape of the beam itself, its pattern. The fourth is the moment in time when the signal is sent. The fifth is the spot where the beam lands at the output. All five work simultaneously, and the number of parallel streams multiplies rather than adds. That's why a single chip handles up to 1800 streams at once.

Tests show the chip can handle tasks that previously required bulky servers. It recognizes handwritten digits, processes camera images, classifies satellite data, and even listens to machinery vibrations to detect faults. The speed is 69.12 trillion operations per second, all in a tiny package.