Core Viewpoint - TSMC partners with startup Avicena to produce MicroLED-based interconnect products, aiming to replace electrical connections with optical ones to meet the increasing communication demands between GPUs in AI data centers [1][4]. Group 1: Technology Overview - The collaboration focuses on using optical connections to address unprecedented demands for data volume, bandwidth, latency, and speed in AI clusters due to large language models [1]. - Avicena's LightBundle platform utilizes hundreds of blue MicroLEDs connected through imaging-type optical fibers to transmit data, avoiding the complexities associated with lasers [1][4]. - The technology allows for a simple optical fiber link that can transmit data at 10 Gb/s over distances exceeding 10 meters, achieving net transmission rates of up to 3 Tb/s [4]. Group 2: Industry Context - The optical interconnect technology is positioned as a solution to the challenges faced by laser-based optical interconnects, which struggle with reliability, manufacturing, and cost issues [3][4]. - Avicena's approach leverages existing technologies in LEDs, cameras, and displays, which are already mature industries, allowing for quicker adjustments in production methods [6][7]. - TSMC's involvement in producing optical detector arrays for Avicena highlights the potential for lower costs and higher efficiency compared to traditional laser-based systems [7]. Group 3: Competitive Advantage - Avicena claims that their technology can achieve energy consumption as low as sub-picojoules per bit, outperforming other optical methods that find it difficult to reach 5 picojoules per bit [7]. - The simplicity of the LightBundle design, requiring only minor modifications to existing camera and display technologies, positions it favorably against more complex silicon photonics solutions [6][7].