Tower jumps on Nvidia silicon photonics deal

Group 1 - Tower Semiconductor's share price increased by 14.6% on Thursday and Friday, following a decline earlier in the week, resulting in a total weekly rise of 3.2% to $139, with a market capitalization reaching a record $15.6 billion [1][2] - The company announced a collaboration with Nvidia to supply silicon photonics components for optical communication modules, which will be utilized in AI data centers, specifically for 1.6 terabytes per second optical communication modules [2][5] - Tower's silicon photonics platform offers data rates up to twice as high as previous solutions, enhancing bandwidth and throughput for optical connectivity, thereby significantly improving AI performance [5][7] Group 2 - Tower is set to release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, with analysts projecting annual revenue of $1.57 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.18 [6][7] - The CEO of Tower, Russell Ellwanger, emphasized the company's ongoing investment in performance, scalability, and manufacturing capabilities on a global scale [7] - Nvidia's Senior Vice President of Networking, Gilad Shainer, stated that the partnership with Tower supports Nvidia's supply chain and solution portfolio, facilitating the development of innovative infrastructures for large-scale AI applications [7]