# GlobalFoundries Builds Optical Backbone for AI Data Centers > Source: > Published: 2026-05-31 00:19:17.507008+00:00 # GlobalFoundries Builds Optical Backbone for AI Data Centers Reporting by The Motley Fool describes how big tech firms currently scale AI by adding GPUs and power, a pattern the article says runs into physical limits. Motley Fool reports that **GlobalFoundries** unveiled **SCALE** in May 2026, a silicon-photonics co-packaged optics platform the article says meets the Optical Compute Interconnect Multi-Source Agreement specifications. Motley Fool also reports that GlobalFoundries has demonstrated **8λ** and **16λ** bi-directional dense wavelength-division multiplexing on the platform. The article frames co-packaged optics as a response to copper wiring limits inside AI data centers, arguing optical links can reduce heat, cut power draw, and increase bandwidth density compared with long copper traces. ### What happened Reporting by The Motley Fool documents that **GlobalFoundries** announced **SCALE** in May 2026, described as a silicon-photonics, co-packaged optics platform that the article says meets the **Optical Compute Interconnect Multi-Source Agreement** specifications for AI scale-up architectures. Motley Fool reports that the company has demonstrated **8λ** and **16λ** bi-directional dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) natively on the platform. ### Technical details Reporting by The Motley Fool explains that the SCALE approach pairs optical transceivers with chips to shrink the length of copper interconnects inside AI racks. The article describes the platform as using both coarse and dense wavelength-division multiplexing over each fiber to push bandwidth density and scalability beyond what long copper traces can deliver, and presents the DWDM demonstrations as milestones toward higher aggregate link density. ### Editorial analysis - technical context Industry-pattern observations: co-packaged optics (CPO) has been discussed in research and vendor road maps for years as a way to address power, thermal, and signal-integrity limits imposed by high-speed copper at scale. Companies pursuing CPO typically focus on packaging, thermal interfaces, and photonics integration to maintain latency and reliability at rack and chassis levels. For practitioners, moving from copper-dominated fabrics to CPO changes testing, telemetry, and failure-mode profiles in networking and board-level diagnostics. ### Industry context Industry-pattern observations: public hyperscalers such as Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms continue to scale with denser GPU farms and larger electrical infrastructure, an approach the Motley Fool article contrasts with optical-first interconnects. Broader supply-chain and ecosystem readiness, including optical component suppliers and agreement on interoperability standards, will determine how quickly CPO can be adopted in AI-scale deployments. ### What to watch Editorial analysis: observers should monitor interoperability test results against the Optical Compute Interconnect MSA, additional DWDM scaling beyond the reported **16λ**, and industry validation from system integrators or hyperscalers. Tracking component yields, thermal-management data, and third-party latency measurements will indicate whether CPO implementations like SCALE can move from demonstrations into production deployments. ## Scoring Rationale The announcement addresses a practical infrastructure bottleneck for large AI deployments and demonstrates technical milestones reported by Motley Fool. The development is notable for practitioners planning scale, but it is an intermediate infrastructure advance rather than a frontier model or platform change. Practice interview problems based on real data 1,500+ SQL & Python problems across 15 industry datasets — the exact type of data you work with. [Try 250 free problems](/problems)