Coherent is set to continue its march into the data center space through PhotonLink, an architecture-agnostic full-stack offering for AI interconnectivity.
Building on the vendor’s established data center manufacturing base, PhotonLink supports both co-packaged optics (CPO) and near-packaged optics (NPO), providing customers with means to pursue the competing technologies under one roof.
In addition to giving customers the best of both worlds, PhotonLink also sees Coherent trying to market itself as the focal point for interconnectivity components. The platform encompasses technologies ranging from indium phosphide (InP) lasers and vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays to silicon photonics and micro-optics, with Coherent pitching it as simplifying system design.
“The next leap in AI requires more than faster chips – it requires a new way to connect them,” Coherent CEO Jim Anderson said in a statement. “Customers need complete optical solutions, not just individual components. Coherent is uniquely positioned to bring together the critical technologies, integrate and test the finished assemblies, and manufacture them at scale. PhotonLink puts that capability to work for the next generation of AI infrastructure.”
Optical connectivity – using light over traditional electrons to transmit data – is far from novel, but has quickly become one of the next big things in AI infrastructure owing to its potential to dramatically reduce hardware power consumption while providing faster speeds for interconnects.
The industry hasn’t quite come together to back a single form factor, however. CPO, which involves placing optical engines directly on the same package as a switch or chip, has caught the eye of some big names, including Nvidia, Marvell, and SK Hynix. The extent of interest has resulted in a handful of industry groups forming around the technology, including the Lightmatter-led Open Silicon Photonics for AI Systems initiative and scale-up networking-focused OCI-MSA.
On the flip side, NPO has some vocal backers also, chief of which being Huawei. The Chinese giant views the tech as being more feasible today than CPO for large-scale deployments, and that it’s more supply chain friendly, as optical engines only need to be placed immediately adjacent to the chip, rather than on the same substrate. Marvell and Semtech are among the other players investing in NPOs.
Coherent is backing both horses, with its PhotonLink announcement revealing more than ten “customer engagements” each for both CPO and NPO, in addition to anchor customers and long-term agreements secured for both architectures. Nvidia, which is investing heavily in CPO through its Spectrum-6 line of switches, is among key Coherent backers.
The launch of PhotonLink comes as the vendor has already ridden the AI wave straight to the bank. August saw it pull in $2.05 billion worth of revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, with its Data Center & Communications business unit accounting for 79% of its revenue alone.