nvidia's new photonics tech: million-gpu clusters are now reality
Santa Clara, Wednesday, 19 March 2025.
nvidia just launched a groundbreaking silicon photonics platform. It leverages tsmc’s advanced coupe technology. This innovation enables unprecedented million-gpu clusters. These clusters boast data transfer speeds of 400 tb/s. This advancement promises to revolutionize ai and data centers. It facilitates capabilities previously out of reach with existing hardware. The new platform is a leap forward. It offers higher bandwidth and improved energy efficiency. Collaborations with coherent, corning, and foxconn will ensure a robust ecosystem.
GTC 2025 unveiling
Nvidia officially revealed the Spectrum-X Photonics and Quantum-X Photonics network switch platforms at GTC 2025 [1][2]. These platforms leverage silicon photonics technology. Each port achieves data transmission speeds up to 1.6 Tb/s, with an aggregate speed of 400 Tb/s [2][4]. This enables seamless operation of millions of GPUs [1][4]. Nvidia emphasizes that these switches offer superior bandwidth, reduced power consumption, and enhanced reliability compared to traditional networking solutions [1][3]. The Quantum-X InfiniBand switch is slated for release in late 2025, followed by the Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet switch in 2026 [1][3].
quantum-x performance boost
The Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet and Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand platforms both achieve per-port speeds of 1.6 Tb/s [1][3]. This is twice the speed of current top-tier copper cable ethernet solutions [1][3]. The platforms achieve a total bandwidth of 400 Tb/s through various port configurations [1][3]. The Spectrum-X Photonics switch offers configurations featuring 128 ports at 800 Gb/s or 512 ports at 200 Gb/s, delivering a total bandwidth of 100 Tb/s [1][3]. Higher capacity models support 512 ports at 800 Gb/s or 2,048 ports at 200 Gb/s, achieving a 400 Tb/s throughput [1][3].
enhanced efficiency and reliability
The Quantum-X Photonics series incorporates 144 InfiniBand ports at 800 Gb/s, utilizing 200 Gb/s SerDes for efficient data transmission [1][3]. Quantum-X doubles the performance and increases ai computing scalability by five times compared to previous generation network solutions [1][3]. This makes it suitable for demanding workloads and larger ai clusters [1][3]. The Quantum-X InfiniBand switch includes a liquid cooling system [1][3]. This ensures the onboard silicon photonics chips operate at peak efficiency without overheating [1][3]. These new network platforms offer 3.5 times better energy efficiency, 10 times higher network reliability, and 63 times stronger signal integrity [1][3].
tsmc coupe technology
Nvidia’s new silicon photonics platform leverages tsmc’s Compact Universal Photonic Engine (coupe) [1][3]. This platform combines a 65 nm electronic integrated circuit (eic) with a photonic integrated circuit (pic), using tsmc’s soic-x packaging technology [1][3][4]. While Nvidia hasn’t disclosed future plans for its networking equipment, tsmc’s coupe technology roadmap shows promise [1]. Nvidia’s collaboration with companies like coherent, corning, and foxconn aims to establish a robust silicon photonics ecosystem [1][3]. This ensures a stable supply chain and enables the creation of ai clusters and data centers previously unattainable with proprietary hardware [1].
market impact and stock implications
The introduction of cpo switches could significantly improve power efficiency and reduce latency [5]. This makes them the ultimate product for signal transmission [5]. These switches are expected to be expensive, potentially benefiting companies like tianfu communication. Tianfu communication supplies 1.6t faus (light engines) through nvidia’s subsidiary mellanox [5]. Nvidia plans to produce 30,000 cpo asics this year, equivalent to 7,000 115.2t cpo switches [5]. This translates to approximately 2 billion yuan in value for tianfu communication, with expected gross profits exceeding 1.4 billion yuan [5].
competitive advantage
The expected release of the quantum-x infiniband switch in late 2025 and the spectrum-x photonics ethernet switch in 2026, strengthens nvidia’s competitive edge [1][3]. These advancements solidify nvidia’s position in the ai and data center market [1]. The collaboration with tsmc and other key players ensures a stable supply chain and technological advantage [1][3]. Media analysis suggests that widespread adoption depends on organizations upgrading existing network infrastructure, presenting both opportunities and challenges [1].