Microsoft’s Ashwin Gumaste: Industry Must Unite to Realize 448G AI Interconnect Vision
At the recent OIF 400G Workshop, Ashwin Gumaste, Principal AI Systems Architect at Microsoft, emphasized that the transition to 448G SerDes represents the next critical step for scalable AI infrastructure. While 224G is still being refined—with challenges around power budgets and retimers—Gumaste described 448G as a bold target that demands industry-wide innovation in SerDes, power efficiency, and interconnect technologies across both copper and optics.
According to Gumaste, the “wish list” for 448G includes support for 40 dB channels and 1-meter reach over copper, with power efficiency below 10 picojoules per bit and cost reductions relative to current solutions. For optical implementations, he highlighted reach targets between 20 and 100 meters, with particular attention to both “fast and narrow” and “slow and wide” optical architectures. These include options such as OBO (On-Board Optics), CPO (Co-Packaged Optics), and emerging technologies like micro-LEDs and VCSELs—all aiming to support the evolving 224G–448G SerDes roadmap.
Gumaste stressed that achieving these targets will require alignment across the ecosystem—including SerDes, connectors, fiber cables, and optical modules. He concluded by affirming the OIF’s leadership role in uniting the industry and setting the foundation for the 448G era. “This is a solvable problem,” he said, “but only if the industry comes together.”
Key Points:
• Ashwin Gumaste identified 448G as the next leap in AI interconnects, building on ongoing 224G development.
• Target specs include 40 dB channel reach, sub-10 pJ/bit power, and both copper and optics support.
• Optical reach goals span 20–100 meters; interest spans OBO, CPO, micro-LEDs, VCSELs.
• Industry must coordinate on SerDes, cables, connectors, and module types to enable 448G.
• Gumaste called on the OIF to maintain its leadership role in standardizing the 448G transition.
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