"Nvidia announced on Monday that it's investing $2 billion each into Lumentum and Coherent, which are both developing photonics technology for data centers, like optical transceivers, circuit switches, and lasers, which are used to move data at high speeds over long distances. Their tech could improve energy efficiency, data transfer speeds, and bandwidth in future AI data centers."
"The growth of agentic AI like Anthropic's Claude Cowork and Microsoft's Copilot Tasks is driving up the bandwidth needs of AI data centers in order to support executing multiple tasks quickly. Photonics could offer a solution - optical fibers are able to support significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency than copper cables while also using less power."
"For Lumentum, the nonexclusive multiyear deal includes a 'multibillion purchase commitment and future capacity access rights for advanced laser components,' as well as support for expanding R&D and manufacturing. Coherent's deal is described similarly, with a 'multibillion-dollar purchase commitment and future access and capacity rights for advanced laser and optical networking products.'"
Nvidia announced $2 billion investments in Lumentum and Coherent to advance photonics technology for data centers. Both companies develop optical transceivers, circuit switches, and lasers that enable high-speed data movement over long distances. The deals include multibillion-dollar purchase commitments and capacity access rights for advanced laser and optical networking products. Photonics technology offers significant advantages over traditional copper infrastructure, supporting higher bandwidth and lower latency while consuming less power. Growing demand from agentic AI applications like Claude and Copilot Tasks is driving increased bandwidth requirements in AI data centers. Nvidia's strategy builds on its 2020 Mellanox acquisition, which enhanced GPU interconnectivity. Industry competitors, including AMD and DARPA, are also investing in photonics research and development for AI applications.
#photonics-technology #ai-data-centers #nvidia-investment #optical-networking #data-transfer-infrastructure
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]