Cisco

Runaway AI training demand is pushing data center fabrics past their limits, making optical networking the bottleneck to unlock GPU-scale performance and efficiency. Scale-up connects more GPUs within a box or across tightly coupled racks to form supernodes with ultra-low-latency fabrics. A new forecast from Goldman Sachs positions optical networking as the next mega-trend in AI infrastructure, with spend growing an order of magnitude as clusters densify. CPO—integrating optical engines with switch ASICs or accelerators—features prominently in the growth outlook. Expect a technology mix that also includes pluggable 800G/1.6T optics and emerging Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) to reduce DSP power at short reaches.