optical interconnects
22 articles about optical interconnects in AI news
IOWN Forum Pushes All-Photonic WAN for AI Neocloud Interconnects
The IOWN Global Forum is focusing its optical networking tech on datacenter interconnects, aiming to let GPU 'neoclouds' and financial firms use cheaper, remote facilities without latency penalties for AI workloads.
Silicon Photonics Hits 300-mm Wafer Scale for AI Interconnects
Silicon photonics moves to 300-mm wafers for AI interconnects, cutting cost per Gbps by ~30% and addressing bandwidth bottlenecks in 100,000+ GPU clusters.
Lightmatter Photonics Joins Nvidia NVLink Fusion for AI Interconnects
Lightmatter joins Nvidia NVLink Fusion with photonic interconnects. Nvidia Kyber rack delayed to 2028.
Coherent Q3 FY 2026: AI Optical Revenue Hits $1.2B as Data Center Buildout
Coherent Q3 AI optical revenue hit $1.2B, up 45% YoY, as 800G transceiver demand from hyperscalers drives growth. Total revenue $1.6B.
Nvidia Commits $6.5B to Photonics in Supply Chain Bet on AI's Next Bottleneck
Nvidia has invested over $6.5 billion across four photonics suppliers since March 2026, pairing equity stakes with multi-billion-dollar purchase commitments. The deals coincide with capacity expansion announcements from Coherent, Nokia, and Japan's JX Advanced Metals, and signal that optical interco
Nvidia Partners Corning for US Fiber Manufacturing, Prepaying Billions
Nvidia partners Corning for US fiber manufacturing with multibillion-dollar prepayments, increasing domestic capacity by 50%+ for AI GPU cluster interconnects.
GUC, Wiwynn Partner on Silicon-to-System AI Infrastructure for Hyperscalers
GUC and Wiwynn partner on silicon-to-system AI infrastructure, integrating SoC design, optical I/O, and liquid cooling for hyperscalers.
Cisco Reveals Scale-Across GPU Networking Needs 14x DCI Bandwidth
Cisco's chief architect detailed the massive bandwidth requirements for connecting AI clusters via 'scale-across' GPU networking, which needs 14x the capacity of traditional data center interconnects. This shift is creating a multi-billion dollar market for 800G coherent pluggables and deep-buffered switches.
Nvidia's Silicon Photonics Roadmap Targets AI Data Center Bottlenecks
Nvidia is developing its own silicon photonics-based interconnects to address the growing data transfer bottleneck within AI data centers and supercomputers. This move is critical as AI model size and cluster scale continue to grow exponentially.
Nvidia Bets $4 Billion on Photonics to Power Next-Generation AI Infrastructure
Nvidia is investing $4 billion in photonics companies Lumentum and Coherent to develop optical technologies for AI data centers. This strategic move aims to overcome bandwidth bottlenecks and energy constraints as AI models grow exponentially in size and complexity.
MITRE-Led Team Monolithically Integrates Piezo-Optomechanical Photonics
MITRE-led team demonstrated first monolithic CMOS platform for piezo-optomechanical photonics, achieving wafer-scale integration with 2.3x lower loss and 40% better bandwidth.
Ecolab Acquires CoolIT Systems for $4.75B in AI Cooling Bet
Ecolab acquires CoolIT Systems for $4.75B in AI liquid cooling bet. Nvidia endorsement signals strategic alignment with high-density GPU racks.
Scale-Across: Cloud Giants Link Datacenters for Million-Accelerator AI Clusters
Cloud providers are linking multiple datacenters for million-accelerator AI clusters, a new 'scale-across' paradigm.
AI data centers could add 1.4°C to global warming by 2060, paper finds
AI data centers could add 1.4°C to global warming by 2060, per a new arXiv preprint, assuming 30% annual compute growth. The paper highlights the need for policy intervention.
China Launches Photonics Lab to Bypass US Chip Curbs on AI
China launched a photonics lab to bypass US chip curbs and develop energy-efficient AI computing using light instead of electrons.
Ayar Labs Joins NVIDIA NVLink Fusion Ecosystem for Co-Packaged Optics
Ayar Labs joined NVIDIA's NVLink Fusion ecosystem to bring co-packaged optics to AI factories, following its $500M Series E and alongside Lightmatter's similar move.
Google TPU 'Broadfly' Topology Scales Pod to 1,152 Chips
Google unveiled a Broadfly TPU topology at Cloud Next, scaling pods to 1,152 chips — 4.5x larger than Ironwood — with max 7 hops. This inference-first design challenges NVIDIA's NVLink on scale and latency.
NVIDIA Vera Rubin VR NVL72: Value Extraction Engine Arrives
NVIDIA's Vera Rubin VR NVL72 shifts from value vendor to value extractor, targeting TCO. SemiAnalysis argues this overturns prior pricing paradigm.
Google Virgo Fabric: 100K-Accelerator AI Network Cuts Latency
Google unveiled Virgo, a data center fabric for AI clusters of 100,000+ accelerators, using a flatter two-layer topology to reduce latency and improve bisection bandwidth for synchronized training workloads.
Nvidia Invests $2B in Marvell to Expand NVLink Fusion Chip Partnership
Nvidia is investing $2 billion in Marvell Technology to deepen their partnership on NVLink Fusion, a chip-to-chip interconnect crucial for scaling AI training clusters. This strategic move aims to secure supply and accelerate development of high-bandwidth links between GPUs and custom AI accelerators.
AI Data Center HBM Shortage Intensifies as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Struggle with Supply
AI data centers are aggressively stockpiling high-bandwidth memory (HBM), creating a supply crunch. Only three manufacturers—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—can produce this critical component for AI servers.
Silicon Photonics Breakthrough Enters Mass Production, Paving Way for Next-Generation AI Infrastructure
STMicroelectronics has begun mass production of its PIC100 silicon photonics platform, enabling 800G and 1.6T data rates critical for AI data centers. This breakthrough technology replaces copper with light for faster, more efficient data transmission between AI accelerators.