Nvidia has signed a multi-year deal with Corning to build 3 dedicated optical-technology production facilities in the United States. On May 6, CNBC reported the partnership is being read as a move to shift internal connectivity in AI data centers from copper wiring to fiber optics.

The two companies said they plan to build or expand 3 advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas and put them into production of optical technology for Nvidia. The facilities will create at least 3,000 jobs and expand Corning’s U.S. optical manufacturing capacity tenfold. They did not disclose the contract value.

Markets reacted immediately. Corning shares jumped 14 percent after the announcement, and Nvidia shares rose about 3 percent. Investors took the deal as a signal of expansion in the AI infrastructure supply chain and a shift toward next-generation networks.

The core focus is bringing optical connections deeper into Nvidia’s rack-scale AI systems. The companies did not disclose specific development details, but the industry sees Nvidia preparing to replace existing copper wiring in its AI rack systems with Corning’s optical glass fiber. This integration approach is called co-packaged optics.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (젠슨 황) said at the 2025 GTC that co-packaged optics was an essential technology for building AI infrastructure. In the latest announcement, Huang said AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout of the era and that the companies are building the future of computing together with advanced optical technology. He stressed the work is about building the foundation for AI infrastructure in which intelligence moves at the speed of light.

Corning also linked the partnership to expanding U.S. manufacturing. Corning CEO Wendell Weeks (웬델 윅스) said what Nvidia is doing is highly unusual not only for the future of AI but also in terms of the U.S. advanced manufacturing workforce.

The shift to optics is drawing attention because of power and speed constraints. As the number of graphics processing units in AI servers and data centers surges, the volume of data moving among chips, racks and systems also grows. Fiber optics has less signal loss than copper wiring, enables faster transmission and can reduce power consumption. Weeks said in a previous interview that the power required to move photons is 5 to 20 times lower than that needed to move electrons.

Markets have long waited for Nvidia’s timing on large-scale adoption of co-packaged optics. The technology can increase data movement speeds needed for AI workloads and reduce energy use. Vlad Galabov of Omdia explained that bringing optical signal conversion next to the computer chip reduces wasted power because it avoids having to traverse long circuit boards. He also said Nvidia has increased the pace of innovation across the broader ecosystem.

Corning is widely known as an iPhone display glass supplier, but its largest and fastest-growing business is now optical communications. After developing fiber optics for long-distance telecommunications in 1970, Corning has supplied cables needed for rack-to-rack connections in major operators’ AI data centers. The partnership increases the likelihood Corning will take on a role in bringing glass fiber into rack-scale systems such as Nvidia’s "Vera Rubin", and further into chip-to-chip connections. About 5,000 copper cables are used inside Nvidia systems.

Nvidia already launched 2 network switch models in 2025 that applied similar optical technology. Competitors Broadcom and Marvell have also released similar products, and Intel is developing related solutions. Nvidia also invested $4 billion, or about 5.8 trillion won, in March in Coherent and Lumentum, which develop lasers and components for optical-to-electrical signal conversion. That is linked to a move to secure in advance an ecosystem of components to combine with Corning’s fiber-optic cables.

Against that backdrop, Corning is also accelerating expansion in the United States. Meta said in January it would invest up to $6 billion, or about 8.7 trillion won, as a key customer to support an expansion of the Hickory fiber-optic cable plant in North Carolina. The expansion project is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. Corning will hold an investor day event at the New York Stock Exchange on May 7 and will ring the closing bell to mark its 175th anniversary.