Nvidia announced on Monday that it is investing in two companies developing photonics technologies. The U.S. chipmaker will be investing $2 billion each in Coherent and Lumentum. These companies are developing optics technology — systems which generate or transmit light and are used in functions like sensing and data transfer.
Lumentum is a U.S.-based company that is developing optical and photonic technologies to power the networks and infrastructure behind AI, cloud computing and next-generation communications. Coherent, which is also based in the U.S. develops photonics technology. Photonics technology involves harnessing light (photons) to create components and systems that enable high-performance optical applications.
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“AI has reinvented computing and is driving the largest computing infrastructure buildout in history,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Together with Lumentum, NVIDIA is advancing the world’s most sophisticated silicon photonics to build the next generation of gigawatt-scale AI factories.” Huang also made similar comments about Nvidia’s deal with Coherent.
“This multiyear strategic agreement reflects our shared commitment to advancing the optics technologies that will power the next generation of AI infrastructure,” said Michael Hurlston, CEO of Lumentum. “In support of this collaboration, we are also investing in a new fabrication facility to increase capacity and accelerate innovation. We’re excited to work together to expand what’s possible for the AI optical architectures of tomorrow.”
Jim Anderson, CEO of Coherent said this strategic relationship “underscores Coherent’s role as a key enabler of next-generation AI data center infrastructure.” “We are proud to expand our 20-year relationship with NVIDIA by increasing their access to include multiple product families to help them build the AI data centers of the future,” he said.
The chip giant’s deal with Coherent also includes a multi-billion dollar purchase commitment and future access and capacity rights for advanced laser and optical networking products.
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Nvidia has been aggressively searching for new technology that could help increase the speed of their chips, and photonics has become a popular choice for chipmakers looking to cater to higher inference requirements. The deals with the photonic companies could help Nvidia extend its lead in the fast-moving AI hardware industry as many top cloud providers take to building custom silicon in order to match their personal AI needs.
Last December, custom-chip maker Marvell announced its acquisition of semiconductor startup Celestial AI in a $3.25 billion deal to tap into its work on photonics, which uses light rather than electrical signals to create connections between AI chips.