Nvidia has invested at least $6.5 billion in photonics companies since March 2026, targeting Coherent, Lumentum, Marvell, Corning, and Ayar Labs. The strategy aims to replace copper interconnects with light-based alternatives as AI training clusters scale beyond copper's physical bandwidth limits. Key deals include $2 billion each in Coherent, Lumentum, and Marvell, up to $3.2 billion in Corning (which will expand US manufacturing tenfold), and participation in Ayar Labs' $500M Series E alongside AMD and MediaTek. Nvidia's purchase commitments may effectively lock up global high-end laser component supply through 2027, squeezing competitors. The investments are tied directly to supplying Nvidia's next-gen Vera Rubin platform, which already uses optical interconnects between racks, and reflect a broader $40B+ AI equity investment strategy in 2026.
