NVIDIA and Corning are expanding the production of U.S. optical communication components by 10 times... to proactively address AI data center bottlenecks

NVIDIA partners with glass manufacturer Corning to expand domestic data center optical communication component production in the United States.
Amid the rapid growth in demand for AI data centers, this move is interpreted as an early effort to strengthen the optical network supply chain, considered a core infrastructure.

The two companies announced on the 7th that Corning will build three new factories in North Carolina and Texas.
Through this investment, Corning’s optical hardware manufacturing capacity in the U.S. will increase tenfold compared to current levels, and it is expected to create over 3,000 new jobs.

The specific production projects of this cooperation have not been disclosed, but the market believes that fiber optic cables for data centers are the main candidate products.
Corning has long been a well-known supplier of server-grade optical cables used in AI clusters.
Since large-scale data centers require thousands of miles of fiber optic cabling, installation speed and maintenance efficiency greatly impact overall construction progress and costs.

Corning’s flagship technology, “Flow Ribbon Technology,” fits this demand.
Optical cables using this technology can be inserted into “microtubes” via compressed air jetting, allowing faster installation than manual operation.
Additionally, stripping the cable jacket with less use of sharp tools helps shorten work time and improves on-site safety.

Corning also supplies the “MMC” series cables.
These products can be used with “CPO (Co-Packaged Optics)” devices.
CPO is a structure where optical transceivers are directly installed inside data center switches, and compared to traditional external optical modules, it is regarded as a next-generation technology in terms of energy efficiency and speed.

NVIDIA entered the CPO switch market for AI clusters in March 2025, and it is reported that earlier this year, it invested $4 billion in two related optical component suppliers.
Based on the exchange rate of 1,451.70 KRW per USD, this amounts to approximately 58.07k trillion KRW.
This collaboration with Corning is also seen as a continuation of efforts to reduce network bottlenecks in AI data centers.

In addition, NVIDIA reportedly obtained warrants to purchase up to 18 million Corning shares.
Warrants give the right to buy stock at a predetermined price.
This portion of shares is valued at over $3.2 billion, or approximately 4.6454 trillion KRW.
This can be viewed as a strategic move to deepen the partnership beyond mere cooperation and to bind supply chain interests long-term.

Market reactions were immediate.
Corning’s stock price surged over 12% following the announcement of the NVIDIA partnership.
This reflects market expectations for its core growth pillar—optical communications.
Corning’s optical communications sales increased by 36% year-over-year in the last quarter, far exceeding overall sales growth.

Although Corning is widely known for “Gorilla Glass” used in iPhone displays, its business portfolio is much broader.
It also manufactures pharmaceutical glass bottles, automotive parts, and optical components for space telescopes.
Some near-infrared sensors and lens pointing modules for the James Webb Space Telescope are also supplied by Corning.

This announcement indicates that the core of AI competition has shifted beyond semiconductors to “infrastructure” such as power, cooling, and optical networks.
Especially as NVIDIA expands its direct involvement in the optical communication supply chain, the importance of network equipment and optical component companies may further increase in future AI data center investment trends.

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The main content may be incomplete or may differ from actual facts.