- Over the past two years, global investment in AI computing infrastructure has grown exponentially. In 2025, capital expenditure of the world’s top 10 cloud vendors reached $466 billion, a year-on-year increase of 64%, with the vast majority allocated to AI computing infrastructure.
- Driven by this trend, the global optical module market reached nearly $18 billion in sales in 2025, representing a year-on-year growth of approximately 70%. It is projected to maintain a high growth rate of 60% in 2026. Under a neutral forecast, the global market size will approach $60 billion by 2031. Research institutions have clearly indicated that 2026 marks a pivotal year for AI optical interconnects, with 800G and 1.6T optical modules jointly driving strong growth.
- Demand for optical modules in AI data centers stems from the rapid expansion of computing clusters. As AI training and inference clusters scale to thousands or even tens of thousands of chips, traditional copper cabling encounters physical limits in power consumption, heat dissipation, and effective transmission distance. Optical interconnect technology — which transmits data using optical signals instead of electrical signals — has evolved from an optional solution to a mandatory one.
- As industry analysts describe: In the past, data centers were like rural roads, where copper cables were sufficient. Today, AI data centers resemble urban peak-hour traffic — without highways, total congestion is inevitable. Optical communications serve as the highway system designed precisely for this scenario.
- In terms of technological iteration, the upgrade cycle of optical modules has shortened from 3–4 years in the early stage to approximately 2 years today. In 2025, AI data centers mainly adopted 800G optical modules, with an annual demand of about 20 million units. In 2026, the industry has entered the mass production ramp-up phase for 1.6T modules.
- At the OFC 2026 Global Optical Communications Conference in March, multiple vendors confirmed mass production of 1.6T products. Broadcom launched its first 400G per-channel DSP, laying the foundation for 3.2T optical modules. Commercial validation of 3.2T products is expected in 2027–2028.
- According to market data, Goldman Sachs forecasts that 800G optical module shipments will reach 38 million units in 2026, while 1.6T shipments will surge from 2 million units in 2025 to 14 million units. High-end products of 800G and above will achieve a CAGR of 34% from 2026 to 2028. High-speed optical modules at 800G and above are becoming the main engine of growth for the global optical communications industry.
- For enterprise users, selecting appropriate optical module products is critical. The 800G optical module market has formed a clear leading landscape, with packages including QSFP-DD800 and OSFP to meet compatibility requirements of different switch platforms.
- As AI computing demand continues to surge, vendors capable of stably supplying high-speed, low-power optical modules will gain decisive advantages in the new industrial cycle.
