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Co-packaged optics (CPO) puts optical engines beside a switch, processor or accelerator inside the same package, shortening the electrical path between computing silicon and optical signals. That can help AI data centers move more data with higher bandwidth density and potentially less energy per bit—but CPO also makes packaging, testing and maintenance more demanding. It is an emerging approach, not a wholesale replacement for faceplate pluggable transceivers.
What co-packaged optics changes
In a conventional network device, a switch ASIC sends high-speed electrical signals across the board to pluggable optical transceivers at the equipment faceplate. Those modules convert electrical signals to light for transmission over fiber, then convert incoming light back to electrical signals.
CPO moves that optical conversion closer to the switch or compute die. Broadcom describes the approach as heterogeneous integration of optics and silicon on one packaged substrate. Corning emphasizes the shorter electrical path and the resulting opportunity to concentrate more bandwidth near the device. Fibers still leave the package through specialized couplers, harnesses or connectors; the change is where the electrical-to-optical conversion happens.
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Why CPO is gaining attention
AI clusters are pushing bandwidth outward from each device
Training and inference systems depend on moving data among accelerators and between servers. As aggregate bandwidth rises, the electrical connections between a processor and its optics become a harder part of the design. Intel says electrical I/O generally reaches about one meter or less, while optical links extend reach but pluggable optics add power and cost that can become difficult to scale across large AI systems. Intel’s senior director of product management and strategy, Thomas Liljeberg, said that increasing server-to-server data movement is straining data-center infrastructure and that electrical I/O is approaching practical limits.
Shorter electrical paths can improve the power and density trade-off
Copper remains useful for short electrical connections, but higher lane rates and longer reaches make signal transmission more demanding. Corning identifies about 200 Gb/s as a point where copper transmission power can become prohibitive and CPO more attractive. That is an industry-specific engineering threshold, not a universal cutoff for every cable, link or system.
By placing optics next to the electrical die, CPO aims to avoid some of the loss and power burden of long, high-speed board traces. Whether that translates into a system-level advantage depends on the whole design: optics, lasers, cooling, packaging, fiber routing and the cost of building and servicing the equipment.
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What vendors have demonstrated or announced
The following figures describe different products and measurement contexts, so they are not a head-to-head ranking. They are vendor-reported demonstrations or announcements rather than independent field measurements.
| Company and date | Reported performance | How to read the claim |
|---|---|---|
| Intel, 2024 | Its prototype optical compute interconnect (OCI) reports 64 channels at 32 Gbps in each direction over distances up to 100 m, for up to 4 Tbps bidirectional transfer. Intel reports 5 pJ/bit for the co-packaged solution versus about 15 pJ/bit for pluggable transceivers. | Prototype figures and Intel’s stated comparison; the power values should not be treated as independently verified system-wide results. |
| Marvell, 2025 | The announced 6.4T 3D silicon-photonics engine has 32 channels with 200G electrical and optical interfaces. Marvell claims twice the bandwidth density and 30% lower power per bit than comparable 100G interfaces. | Vendor comparison against comparable 100G interfaces, not a general guarantee of savings against every pluggable design. |
| NVIDIA, 2025 | Each Quantum-X optical subassembly is reported to provide 4.8 Tbps transmit plus 4.8 Tbps receive through three 1.6 Tbps COUPE-based engines. | Platform specifications announced by NVIDIA; the aggregate transmit and receive figures are separate directions. |
| NTT, 2024 roadmap | NTT describes CoPKG operation at 0.4–0.8 Tbps over 40–300 km, a planned 3.2 Tbps optical engine for 2025, and later 5 Tbps and 15 Tbps generations. | These are roadmap statements, not independent test results; the 2025 plan should not be read as proof of deployment. |
These announcements show that CPO has moved beyond a purely conceptual discussion, but they do not establish one standard architecture or a single performance level. Channel count, reach, directionality, interface generation and the boundary of the power measurement all affect how a number should be compared.
What a CPO system has to solve
Packaging and manufacturing
A deployable system combines silicon-photonics photonic integrated circuits, modulators and photodetectors with electronic ICs or DSP, laser sources, thermal control, package substrates or interposers, fiber-array units, connectors and precision assembly. SEMI identifies packaging, testing, energy loss, cost and heat dissipation among the challenges that still need to be addressed. Its SiPhIA industry structure includes work on system design, packaging and testing, and equipment.
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- 【Precision Design】The precisely designed cuboid connectors of this digital optical audio cable make installation easy and secure. The flexible and lightweight nylon material ensures hassle-free handling. Additionally, removable rubber caps protect the connectors from dust and oxidation when not in use. CL3-rated, this cable is also designed for in-wall installation, providing flexibility for your setup
As integration gets denser, aligning optical components and fibers to the right locations becomes a manufacturing challenge, not just a design detail. Corning points to fiber alignment and the complexity of dense inside-the-box harnesses, including systems that may mix single-mode and polarization-maintaining fiber.
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Heat and test access
High-performance switches and accelerators already generate substantial heat. Adding photonics and laser-related components near the compute or switching silicon puts more demands on thermal design. A package also needs reliable ways to test optical paths and components during manufacturing; otherwise, faults can be difficult or costly to isolate after integration.
Serviceability and fiber connections
With pluggable optics, a technician can generally replace a faceplate module without replacing the switch ASIC package. Embedding optics changes that service boundary: failure, inspection or upgrades may involve more than swapping a module. NVIDIA describes hermetically sealed fiber interfaces and socket-based modularity as design responses intended to address reliability and serviceability, but these features do not make every CPO system interchangeable or equally easy to maintain.
Rank #4
- Optical digital audio cable: Perfect for equipment with a TOSLINK interface (OPT In / OPT Out or S/PDIF In / S/PDIF Out). TOSLINK connector to TOSLINK connector (F05 connector)
- Versatile: Ideal for transmitting crystal-clear digital audio from your TV, video game console (PS3/PS4/Xbox One), DVD/Blu-ray player, or TV streaming box to a soundbar, amplifier/amp, stereo/Hi-Fi system, D/A converter, and more
- High-End: This metal-free fiber optic audio cable, featuring a fully flexible PVC jacket, is entirely immune to electrical interference. Each cable undergoes multi-stage testing during manufacturing to ensure maximum product quality and durability
- 24K gold-plated connectors: Corrosion resistant gold plating keeps connectors clean. And because these cables are fiber optic, they provide 100 % signal transmission with 0 % loss
- No risk: 36 months manufacturer warranty
Is CPO replacing pluggable transceivers?
Not across the board. CPO is most compelling where bandwidth density, electrical reach and power constraints justify moving optics into the package. Pluggable modules retain an advantage in modular replacement and familiar equipment-faceplate servicing. Which approach is preferable depends on the link budget, thermal envelope, deployment scale and maintenance model.
For a system designer or buyer, the useful comparison is broader than peak throughput:
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- Bandwidth density: How much aggregate bandwidth fits around the switch or accelerator?
- Energy per bit: What is included in the measurement—optical engine, transceiver, laser, or a wider system?
- Electrical reach: How far must high-speed signals travel before conversion to optics?
- Thermal budget: Can the package and surrounding system remove heat without compromising performance?
- Laser and fiber architecture: Where are the laser sources, and how are fibers routed and connected?
- Manufacturing and test maturity: Can the package be assembled, inspected and tested consistently at the required volume?
- Field service and interoperability: What can be replaced independently, and how well does the solution fit the rest of the network?
- Total system cost: Do potential power and density benefits outweigh package, assembly, cooling and maintenance costs?
Where adoption is headed
The near-term focus is AI training and inference clusters, including high-capacity Ethernet and InfiniBand switching and links between accelerators. NVIDIA describes Quantum-X and Spectrum-X photonics systems; Intel says it is working with selected customers on its OCI; and Marvell says multiple customers are evaluating its engine. Those statements indicate activity, not universal availability or production deployment.
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SEMI’s SiPhIA initiative connects silicon-photonics development to the bandwidth requirements of AI and data centers. Its 2024–2027 blueprint anticipates a shift from 2D planar structures toward 2.5D and 3D integration. NTT’s generation plan similarly sketches higher-capacity optical engines over time. These roadmaps point to an ecosystem transition involving package design, equipment, test methods and supply chains—not just a faster transceiver.
SEMI reported more than 110 SiPhIA industry partners in 2025. That breadth is relevant because CPO depends on coordinated work across photonic and electronic chips, substrates, lasers, fiber assemblies, connectors and manufacturing. It does not, by itself, prove that the technology is ready for every data center.
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