Astera Labs designs high-speed semiconductor connectivity solutions for AI and cloud data centers. Its products, spanning PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet technologies, enable efficient data movement and signal integrity between GPUs, CPUs, and memory — effectively solving the bottleneck of how AI models communicate and operate within massive server environments at rack scale. We believe the company is positioned at the heart of the AI infrastructure buildout, given its expanding relationships with major hyperscale cloud providers and a rapidly growing product portfolio that addresses a large and growing market. Shares contributed positively to performance, supported by first-quarter results in which better-than-expected revenues were driven by hyperscale customers expanding their AI computing capacity, fueling strong demand for the company’s latest generation of connectivity products.

Astera Labs, Inc. designs high-speed semiconductor connectivity solutions for AI and cloud data centers. Its products, spanning PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet technologies, enable efficient data movement and signal integrity between GPUs, CPUs, and memory — effectively solving the bottleneck of how AI models communicate and operate within massive server environments at rack scale. We believe the company is positioned at the heart of the AI infrastructure buildout, given its expanding relationships with major hyperscale cloud providers and a rapidly growing product portfolio that addresses a large and growing market.

Astera Labs, Inc. is positioned as a semiconductor connectivity company that benefits from the ongoing innovation in the semiconductor sector, particularly in relation to AI advancements. The fund's overweight allocation to Astera Labs reflects confidence in its durable competitive advantages and strong cash flows, which are essential in a market that favors companies with secular growth. The manager emphasizes the importance of investing in companies like Astera Labs that are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the current market environment.

Astera Labs, Inc. is positioned favorably within the semiconductor connectivity space, benefiting from the ongoing innovation in AI and its applications. The manager highlights the importance of investing in companies with 'secular growth, durable competitive advantages, strong cash flows, high returns on capital,' which aligns with Astera Labs' profile. The overweight allocation to Astera Labs contributed positively to the fund's performance, indicating confidence in its growth potential amidst a complex market environment.

Astera Labs is a pure-play investment in the physical bottlenecks of AI infrastructure. As hardware stacks scale, data transfer speeds between GPUs and CPUs create severe connectivity drag. Astera’s specialized signal integrity chips act as critical 'picks and shovels,' making their technology indispensable to the backend fabric of modern data centers regardless of which LLM or chip architecture ultimately wins.

Astera Labs Inc. designs and manufactures semiconductors that enable high-speed connectivity solutions for AI data centers. The company has been a significant contributor to our portfolio, reflecting strong performance in the technology sector. We believe that the ongoing demand for AI-related capital expenditures will continue to drive growth for Astera Labs, positioning it well in the market.

Astera Labs was among our largest relative detractors despite not being held in the Portfolio during the quarter. The company, which provides semiconductor-based connectivity solutions that enable AI servers and cloud infrastructure, was up more than 250% during the period as investors continued to reward companies viewed as key beneficiaries of accelerating AI-related infrastructure spending.

Astera Labs, a maker of high speed networking and connectivity chips used in data centers, was a notable detractor from performance. The strategy had an underweight position in Astera Labs, which contributed negatively to relative returns. Despite the company's robust performance, the decision to underweight it indicates a cautious stance on its future prospects within the portfolio.

Astera Labs contributed meaningfully as part of our Compute Infrastructure theme. The company is experiencing improving returns on capital, accelerating earnings revisions, and strengthening competitive positions, which are characteristics that continue to define the majority of our portfolio. We remain encouraged by these developments, indicating a positive outlook for Astera Labs.

Astera Labs is mentioned as a contributor to the portfolio's performance, but there is no explicit directional argument made about the company's future prospects or valuation.