Lightmatter Reports Optical Interconnects Achieve 100x Data Transfer Speed, Up to 5x Power Efficiency as AI Industry Races to Scale Integration

July 26, 2026

Tom’s Hardware USA

Overview

As copper wiring approaches its physical limits, photonic interconnects are rapidly emerging as an innovative solution for AI workload data centers. Lightmatter’s CEO states that optical interconnects can boost data transfer speeds by up to 100x and power efficiency by 3.5 to 5x. Lightmatter is pursuing co-packaged optics (CPO) component manufacturing with TSMC and GlobalFoundries for 2028 shipments, moving towards a more integrated interposer approach. This clearly shows the AI industry’s accelerating race to deeply integrate optical technology into its infrastructure.

In Depth

Key Findings

With traditional copper wiring approaching its physical limits, photonic interconnects are rapidly emerging as a transformative solution for data centers handling AI workloads. The CEO of Lightmatter indicates that optical interconnects have the potential to boost data transfer speeds by up to 100 times and improve power efficiency by 3.5 to 5 times. Lightmatter is actively pursuing the manufacturing of co-packaged optics (CPO) components with leading foundries, TSMC and GlobalFoundries, targeting shipments by 2028. This move towards a more integrated interposer approach is driving the significant adoption of optical technology within the AI industry.

Technical / Clinical Details

Photonic interconnects achieve substantial increases in bandwidth and significant reductions in power consumption by utilizing optical signals (photons) instead of electrical signals for data transmission. Lightmatter’s technology leverages photons for on-chip data transfer, effectively overcoming the bottlenecks faced by conventional electrical interconnects, such as signal attenuation, heat generation, and electromagnetic interference. Co-packaged optics (CPO) is a key technology that integrates high-performance processors like CPUs and GPUs with optical transceivers within the same package, thereby minimizing data transfer latency and maximizing power efficiency. Lightmatter’s collaboration with major foundries like TSMC and GlobalFoundries provides a strong impetus for the mass production and widespread adoption of this technology. This integrated interposer approach is considered one of the most efficient solutions to the ‘memory wall’ problem between AI chips.

Background & Context

The explosive growth of AI, particularly with the advent of large language models and generative AI, has imposed unprecedented demands on data center computing infrastructure. In AI clusters where tens of thousands of GPUs operate in concert, data movement often consumes more power and time than computation itself, a challenge that conventional copper wire technology can no longer effectively address. To tackle this ‘copper wall’ problem, semiconductor giants such as NVIDIA, Intel, and Broadcom are accelerating massive investments in optical technologies like co-packaged optics and silicon photonics. The entire AI industry is engaged in a fierce competition to deeply integrate optical technology into its infrastructure, aiming to improve the scalability and energy efficiency of AI workloads.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

Lightmatter’s efforts hold immense significance in shaping the future of AI data centers. The dramatic increase in data transfer speeds and improvements in power efficiency will enable faster AI training, reduced operational costs, and the deployment of larger and more complex AI models. The target of CPO component shipments by 2028 suggests that optical interconnect technology will become mainstream in the AI industry within a few years. In the future, this technology is expected to spill over into other fields requiring high bandwidth and low latency, such as autonomous vehicles, AR/VR, and quantum computing, fostering widespread technological innovation. This shift towards optical technology in the AI industry is poised to be a defining trend for the next era of information technology.

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/inside-optical-and-the-battle-for-scale-how-the-ai-industry-is-racing-to-integrate-photonic-interconnects

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