TechCrunch reports that Cornelis Networks, an Intel spinoff, has raised $205 million and introduced Active Compute Fabric, an open, GPU-agnostic networking layer for AI clusters. Its current CN5000 switch runs at 400 Gbps and is shipping, with an 800 Gbps CN6000 generation planned. The pitch is straightforward: give data-center operators an interconnect path that is not Nvidia's tightly integrated stack of InfiniBand and NVLink. Networking is one of the least discussed lock-ins in AI infrastructure — once a cluster is wired with one vendor's fabric, swapping accelerators gets expensive. Cornelis is betting operators want that choice back. The company's performance claims are its own for now, and will need independent deployment evidence before they mean much.