Nvidia is investing a combined $4 billion in two companies developing photonics technologies, as it looks to shore up research pipelines and supply chains to support the major AI infrastructure buildout.
The U.S. chip giant announced on Monday it’s investing $2 billion in Lumentum and the same amount in Coherent. Lumentum shares popped 8% while Coherent jumped 13% following the news.
Both companies are developing optics technology — systems which generate or transmit light and are used in functions like sensing and data transfer.
Lumentum is a U.S.-based company that is developing optical and photonic technologies to power the networks and infrastructure behind AI, cloud computing and next-generation communications.
Coherent, also based in the U.S., develops photonics technology, which refers to harnessing light (photons) to create components and systems that enable high-performance optical applications.
“Together with Lumentum, NVIDIA is advancing the world’s most sophisticated silicon photonics to build the next generation of gigawatt-scale AI factories,” Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said in a statement.
The deal with Lumentum is a multi-year strategic agreement which includes a multi-billion dollar purchase commitment from Nvidia and future capacity rights for advanced laser components.
Nvidia will work with Coherent on developing next-generation silicon photonics for AI infrastructure, Huang said.
The chip giant’s with Coherent also includes a multi-billion dollar purchase commitment and future access and capacity rights for advanced laser and optical networking products.
-CNBC