This morning, Corning and Nvidia announced a multiyear commercial and technology partnership to significantly scale U.S.-based optical connectivity manufacturing and fiber production.
To meet accelerating demand for new AI factory buildouts (data centers), Corning will increase optical connectivity capacity by 10x and boost U.S. fiber production by more than 50%. These are the components Nvidia needs to power next-generation AI infrastructure.
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To make it happen, Corning will build three new advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas, which are expected to create more than 3,000 new jobs.
Corning will manufacture the optical connectivity new hyperscale data centers will use to deploy accelerated computing at scale. Modern AI workloads require thousands of Nvidia GPUs which in turn demands unprecedented volumes of high-performance optical fiber, connectivity and photonics to move data at extraordinary speed and scale, according to the companies.
As data centers grow larger and spread throughout the country, optical connectivity is becoming a vital part of AI infrastructure.
“AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout of our time — and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American manufacturing and supply chains,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.
Corning is experiencing tremendous growth tied to the emerging AI economy. In January, Corning and Meta announced a multiyear agreement worth up to up to $6 billion to accelerate U.S. data center buildout.
Corning is also a part of Apple’s effort to make essential materials and components domestically. The iPhone maker is planning to spend $400 million through 2030.
IEN reached out to Corning and Nvidia, but the companies did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
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