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半导体行业观察·2025-06-01 00:46

Core Viewpoint - AMD has announced the acquisition of Enosemi, a photonic chip startup, to enhance its capabilities in co-packaged optics technology, aiming to compete more effectively with Nvidia in the AI sector [2][3]. Group 1: AMD's Strategic Move - AMD's acquisition of Enosemi is part of its strategy to integrate photonic technology into its next-generation rack systems, which is expected to improve bandwidth and reduce latency compared to traditional copper interconnects [2][3]. - The integration of photonic chips is seen as essential for achieving the high bandwidth required for modern GPU interconnects, which typically rely on copper and have limited range [3][4]. Group 2: Competitive Landscape - Nvidia has been utilizing copper interconnects in its rack systems, citing a significant increase in power budget (up to 20 kW) when switching to fiber optics [5]. - Nvidia's upcoming Spectrum Ethernet and Quantum InfiniBand switches will adopt integrated photonics, aiming to reduce power consumption by eliminating the need for pluggable optical modules, which can consume between 20W to 40W each [6][7]. - Broadcom has been developing CPO switches for years, with its first-generation switches already adopted by Tencent, and is also exploring the integration of GPUs with optical chips capable of achieving 1.6TB/s bidirectional bandwidth [6][7]. Group 3: Industry Trends and Challenges - Intel is also exploring the application of CPO in rack-level systems, emphasizing the importance of optical devices in future architectures [7]. - Despite the growing interest in CPO technology, concerns remain regarding its reliability, maintainability, and the overall complexity associated with tightly integrated systems [7].