Who makes silicon photonics for AI data centers
Silicon photonics & co-packaged optics (CPO)
An approach that integrates optical components directly onto or next to the switch or GPU package, replacing some pluggable transceivers with light routed closer to the silicon.
Silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO) is an alternative to the pluggable transceiver model of 3.04, moving optical conversion closer to the switch ASIC (3.02) or GPU package to cut the electrical reach a signal has to travel before going optical — which lowers power draw and can reduce cable count at the highest speeds. It still depends on external laser sources (3.08a) and fiber attach and connectors (3.08b) as separate supply chains from the photonic integration itself. The taxonomy notes that TSMC plays a role here through its COUPE platform, alongside switch vendors building their own CPO switch designs and specialist private companies focused solely on photonic integration. AI clusters are the primary driver of interest in CPO because the power and cable-count savings matter most at the highest per-GPU bandwidths, where the copper spine cartridges of 3.10 start running into reach and cable-count limits. An investor should watch this as an early, qualification-heavy transition: it threatens to disintermediate part of the traditional pluggable-optics supply chain if it scales, but adoption timing and the split between switch vendors building CPO in-house versus buying from specialists remain open questions.
AI delta: Rising per-GPU bandwidth is what makes co-packaged optics attractive, since the power and cable-count savings only outweigh pluggable optics' simplicity at AI-scale link speeds.
Companies on this part (13)
| Company | Role | Ownership | Ticker | Price | 1d | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcom | manufacturer | public | AVGO | 322 USD | -0.3% | inferred | CPO switches |
| GlobalFoundries | manufacturer | public | GFS | 44.39 USD | +3.0% | disclosed | · source |
| Intel | manufacturer | public | INTC | 86.96 USD | +2.6% | inferred | |
| Marvell | manufacturer | public | MRVL | 229 USD | +3.7% | inferred | |
| Nvidia | manufacturer | public | NVDA | 211 USD | -0.7% | inferred | Spectrum-X and Quantum-X Photonics |
| Tower Semiconductor | manufacturer | public | TSEM | 168 USD | +2.2% | disclosed | · source |
| TSMC | manufacturer | public | 2330.TW | 2385 TWD | -0.8% | inferred | COUPE |
| Ayar Labs | manufacturer | private | inferred | ||||
| Celestial AI | manufacturer | private | inferred | ||||
| Lightmatter | manufacturer | private | disclosed | · source | |||
| Nubis | manufacturer | private | inferred | ||||
| Ranovus | manufacturer | private | inferred | ||||
| Xscape | manufacturer | private | disclosed | · source |
External laser sources 3.08a
Fiber attach and connectors 3.08b
Who competes here
The same table read the other way: every company above competes for silicon photonics & co-packaged optics sockets. Confidence tags matter — an inferred placement is a lead, not a confirmed rivalry.
Nearby parts
- Children: External laser sources, Fiber attach and connectors
- Previous in layer: Optical DSPs, drivers, TIAs
- Next in layer: Copper: DAC / ACC / AEC cables
- Layer: Layer 3 — Networking & interconnect
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- Nvidia unveils OOI CPO prototype for post-2028 AI needs — DigiTimes, 2026-10-25
- TSMC advances CoPoS packaging at Taoyuan Longtan site — DigiTimes, 2026-10-23TSMC is resuming development at its Longtan site to expand advanced packaging capacities, specifically focusing on CoPoS to support growing AI demand.
- Jensen Huang warns Europe risks falling further behind US, China in AI — DigiTimes, 2026-10-23Nvidia's CEO warned that Europe faces risks of falling behind the US and China in AI advancement, calling for faster adoption and eased regulations.
- [AI Infrastructure Insight] How AI infrastructure will be designed for the future — newsroom:sk-hynix, 2026-10-22Effective real-world AI application requires improvements across faster compute, wider memory bandwidth, higher-performance networking, better storage, and more stable power infrastructure.
- Why Chip Design AI Benchmarks Must Go Beyond Functional Correctness — EE Times, 2026-10-21The increasing need for specialized architectures across various domains like physical AI and edge devices is driving a demand for custom silicon optimized for specific performance, memory bandwidth, and energy targets.
- How Singapore Connects Chip Research, Startups, and Manufacturing — EE Times, 2026-10-20Singapore is cultivating an industrial ecosystem that links deep-tech research, startups, and manufacturing across components like SiC power devices and silicon photonics.
- Genius Electronic Optical partners with 3M on EBO development — DigiTimes, 2026-10-20Genius Electronic Optical is partnering with 3M to develop and expand production capacity for Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) solutions, with 3M investing NT$4.8 billion.
- Micro LED optical interconnect targets AI racks amid unsettled standards — DigiTimes, 2026-10-20The growing demand for optical interconnects in AI racks is driving the potential use of Micro LED technology for short-reach optical transmission within data centers.
- Intel says it is the only high-volume fab for 12-inch InP silicon photonics as co-packaged optics nears deployment — DigiTimes, 2026-10-20Intel claimed at OCP that its foundry is uniquely positioned to supply 12-inch InP silicon photonics at scale for near-term co-packaged optics deployment.
- AUO, Largan Micro LED debate highlights optical communications uncertainty — DigiTimes, 2026-10-19The discussion surrounding AUO and Largan's Micro LED technology suggests ongoing uncertainty in the field of optical communications.
Questions about silicon photonics & co-packaged optics
- What are silicon photonics & co-packaged optics?
- An approach that integrates optical components directly onto or next to the switch or GPU package, replacing some pluggable transceivers with light routed closer to the silicon.
- Which companies make silicon photonics for AI data centers?
- This catalog lists 13 companies on Silicon photonics & co-packaged optics, 7 of them with listed equity: Broadcom, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Marvell, Nvidia, Tower Semiconductor, TSMC, Ayar Labs, Celestial AI, Lightmatter, and 3 more.
- How does AI change demand for silicon photonics & co-packaged optics?
- Rising per-GPU bandwidth is what makes co-packaged optics attractive, since the power and cable-count savings only outweigh pluggable optics' simplicity at AI-scale link speeds.
- How reliable are these silicon photonics & co-packaged optics supplier placements?
- The 13 placements on this part break down as 4 disclosed, 9 inferred. "disclosed" means the company or a filing says so; "reported" comes from trade press or a reference-design list; "inferred" is a taxonomy lead with no citation yet.
Sources: placements without a source URL come from the taxonomy seed and are tagged accordingly. How this data is built.· Markdown · JSON