Core Insights - Google is making a significant investment in optical circuit switches (OCS), with an expected procurement of over 23,000 units by 2025, driven by the demand for its TPU chip clusters [1] - The global OCS market is projected to grow from $36.6 million in 2024 to $2.022 billion by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.1% [5] - OCS technology is becoming essential for AI computing clusters, as it meets the high bandwidth and low latency requirements necessary for AI model training [11] Investment and Market Dynamics - Google's investment in OCS systems is expected to reach $3 billion by 2026, with a significant order of 4,600 units from Polatis valued at $250 million [3] - The OCS market is experiencing rapid growth, with a CAGR of 49.8% from $7.278 million in 2020 to $36.6 million in 2024, and is anticipated to exceed $2 billion by 2031 [12] Technological Advancements - OCS technology offers advantages over traditional electrical switches, including a theoretical efficiency that can be 1,000 times greater and a power consumption reduction of around 40% [6] - Three main technological pathways exist in the OCS field: MEMS, DLC, and DLBS, with DLBS (piezoelectric ceramics) showing the most promise for high stability AI cluster interconnections [7][10] Competitive Landscape - The OCS market is currently dominated by North American companies, which hold 58% of the market share, while Chinese manufacturers are rapidly gaining ground with a 28% share of global production capacity by 2024 [13] - Chinese companies like Dekoli and Guangxun Technology are innovating in the OCS space, with Dekoli's photon routing engine achieving latency below 10 microseconds and Guangxun being the only domestic producer of MEMS optical switches [13][14] Future Outlook - The demand for OCS is expected to surge as AI server interconnect needs increase, with estimates suggesting that 48 OCS switches are required for every 4,096 TPU units [11] - The collective actions of major tech companies, including Google, Meta, and Nvidia, are accelerating the adoption of OCS technology, marking a significant shift in data center infrastructure [16]
路由器退场?神秘的光交换机崛起