The demand for high-speed datacom optical modules has surged, with shipments of 400G and 800G units exceeding 20 million in 2024, totaling over $9 billion in revenue, according to Cignal AI’s latest Optical Components Report.
This growth is largely driven by AI applications requiring advanced optical interconnects to support increased GPU deployments and larger cluster sizes. Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst for Optical Components at Cignal AI, noted, “Optical interconnect for AI applications is scaling faster as shipments of GPUs and cluster sizes increase.”
Key Points:
• Market Expansion: The high-speed datacom optical market is projected to grow from approximately $9 billion in 2024 to nearly $12 billion by 2026, coinciding with the peak of 800G growth and a transition to 1.6T 200G/lane technology.
• Shipment Growth: Unit shipments of 400G and 800G modules have increased nearly fourfold over the past year, surpassing 20 million units in 2024.
• Vendor Leadership: Innolight leads in 400G datacom shipments, while Coherent holds the top position for 800G modules. Nvidia’s 800G solutions, sourced from Fabrinet, rank as the third-largest source of modules at this speed.
• Telecom Bandwidth Surge: Telecom bandwidth deployment increased by 51% year-over-year in Q3 2024, indicating a rebound from previous quarters.
• Coherent Pluggable Adoption: Shipments of 400G coherent pluggable modules more than doubled year-over-year, reflecting their growing adoption among hyperscale operators to support expanded datacenter builds.
As the industry anticipates a shift towards 200G/lane solutions in 2025, the rapid scaling of optical interconnects for AI applications underscores the critical role of advanced optical modules in meeting the escalating demands of modern data centers.