Core Viewpoint - The increasing demand for communication between AI GPU clusters is driving the shift towards optical communication for inter-network layer communication, with Nvidia planning to implement silicon photonic interconnect technology and co-packaged optics (CPO) in its next-generation AI platform by 2026 [2][9]. Group 1: Nvidia's CPO Technology - Nvidia's CPO technology integrates optical engines directly with switch ASICs, significantly reducing electrical losses and power consumption, achieving a reduction in electrical loss to 4 dB and power per port to 9W [8]. - The efficiency of CPO is highlighted by improvements such as a 3.5 times increase in power efficiency, a 64 times enhancement in signal integrity, and a 10 times increase in resilience due to fewer active components [8][13]. - Nvidia's Quantum-X InfiniBand switch will offer 115 Tb/s throughput with 144 ports, each supporting 800 Gb/s, and will feature liquid cooling [9]. Group 2: TSMC's COUPE Roadmap - TSMC's COUPE roadmap consists of three phases, starting with an optical engine for OSFP connectors capable of 1.6 Tb/s, which is twice the speed of current top copper Ethernet solutions [15][18]. - The second generation will integrate COUPE into CoWoS packaging, achieving 6.4 Tb/s at the motherboard level, while the third generation aims for 12.8 Tb/s within processor packaging [18]. Group 3: Industry Implications - The adoption of CPO technology is positioned as a structural necessity for future AI data centers, providing a competitive edge over rivals like AMD [13]. - The shift to optical communication is essential for managing the complexities of large-scale AI clusters, which require low-latency and high-bandwidth interconnects [4][6].