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NVIDIA Announces Spectrum-X Photonics, Co-Packaged Optics Networking Switches to Scale AI Factories to Millions of GPUs

NVIDIA Announces Spectrum-X Photonics, Co-Packaged Optics Networking Switches to Scale AI Factories to Millions of GPUs

  • 18.03.2025 16:00
  • markets.businessinsider.com
  • Keywords: dangerous, success

NVIDIA introduced Spectrum-X and Quantum-X photonics switches to connect millions of GPUs in AI factories, reducing energy use and costs while enhancing scalability. These innovations allow for faster deployment and improved efficiency in next-generation AI infrastructure.

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Estimated market influence

NVIDIA

NVIDIA

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Analyst rating: Strong buy

NVIDIA announced a new product that could revolutionize AI factories by enabling them to connect millions of GPUs with more efficient networking solutions.

TSMC

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Analyst rating: N/A

TSMC is collaborating with NVIDIA on silicon photonics, which will help scale AI factories and improve efficiency.

Context

NVIDIA Announces Spectrum-X Photonics and Quantum-X Silicon Photonics Switches

Key Product Features

  • NVIDIA Spectrum-X™:

    • Co-packaged optics networking switches for AI factories to connect millions of GPUs across sites.
    • Delivers 3.5x power efficiency, 63x signal integrity improvement, 10x network resiliency, and 1.3x faster deployment compared to traditional methods.
    • Available in configurations:
      • 128 ports of 800Gb/s or 512 ports of 200Gb/s (total bandwidth: 100Tb/s).
      • 512 ports of 800Gb/s or 2,048 ports of 200Gb/s (total throughput: 400Tb/s).

  • NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics:

    • InfiniBand switches with 144 ports of 800Gb/s based on 200Gb/s SerDes.
    • Uses liquid-cooled design for efficient cooling.
    • Offers 2x faster speeds and 5x higher scalability for AI compute fabrics.

Market Implications

  • Addresses the growing demand for AI factories at extreme scale, requiring advanced networking infrastructure.
  • NVIDIA's silicon photonics ecosystem includes collaborations with TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Fabrinet, Foxconn, Lumentum, SENKO, SPIL, Sumitomo Electric Industries, and TFC Communication.

Competitive Dynamics

  • TSMC partnership: Combines expertise in chip manufacturing and 3D stacking (TSMC-SoIC) to enable scaling AI factories to millions of GPUs.
  • NVIDIA's photonics ecosystem supports pluggable optical transceiver technologies with industry leaders like Coherent, Eoptolink, Fabrinet, and Innolight.

Strategic Considerations

  • Targets hyperscale and enterprise AI workloads, including the largest supercomputers.
  • Focuses on energy efficiency and cost reduction, critical for scaling AI infrastructure globally.

Long-Term Effects

  • Paves the way for massive growth in AI factories, enabling next-generation AI workloads at unprecedented scale.
  • Reinforces NVIDIA's leadership in accelerated computing and AI infrastructure.

Regulatory Impacts

  • No specific regulatory impacts mentioned, but compliance with global networking standards is implied.

Availability

  • NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand switches: Available later in 2025.
  • NVIDIA Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet switches: Expected in 2026 from leading infrastructure and system vendors.

This analysis highlights NVIDIA's strategic move to revolutionize AI factory networking with advanced photonics solutions, positioning the company as a leader in scaling AI infrastructure globally.