Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE) said Monday it will team up with Qualcomm Technologies (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) to demonstrate a high-density die-to-die (“D2D”) optical interconnect aimed at AI scale-up architectures at ECOC 2026 in Málaga, Spain.
The board-level demonstration will combine Qualcomm’s D2D interface IP subsystem with Lumentum’s VCSEL-based optical interconnect platform and Corning’s multimode fiber connectivity. Attendees can see the showcase at Lumentum’s booth #2050 and Qualcomm’s booth #1050/MB28.
In a joint statement, the companies said the demo will feature a massively parallel optical D2D architecture designed for future co-packaged optics (“CPO”) and near-packaged optics (“NPO”) implementations, supporting emerging D2D interfaces such as UCIe. By extending high-density D2D connectivity over optical links spanning tens of meters—while maintaining low latency and power consumption—the architecture aims to deliver highly scalable bandwidth density as AI systems push interconnect requirements beyond the practical limits of today’s electrical connectivity.
On the technical front, the proof-of-concept configuration uses optical channels operating at 32 Gb/s NRZ, illustrating how the massively parallel design can scale through higher channel counts and increasing per-lane data rates. The architecture is engineered to support roughly 1 Tb/s/mm of shoreline bandwidth density today, with a line of sight to approximately 4 Tb/s/mm through higher lane rates and denser channels.
Lumentum’s optical engine is built on advanced-packaged 1060 nm VCSEL technology, with approximately 10 Tb/s of aggregate transmit and receive capacity and high-density two-dimensional VCSEL and photodetector arrays featuring backside lens technology. The platform leverages Lumentum’s ultra-high-volume 3D sensing manufacturing base and is designed for board-level and system-level AI scale-up architectures. Corning is contributing multimode fiber glass ferrules to provide the high-density fiber connectivity used in the demonstration, underscoring the growing importance of fiber density as optical links move closer to compute devices and advanced packaging environments.
Shares of Corning rose 3% in premarket trading, Lumentum gained 2.4%, and Qualcomm added 1.3%.
“This demonstration shows how Lumentum’s 1060 nm VCSEL platform can bring high-density optical connectivity closer to AI compute,” said Matt Sysak, Chief Technology Officer of Lumentum. “By combining advanced VCSEL packaging with Qualcomm Technologies’ D2D interface technology and Corning’s fiber connectivity, we are showing a practical path toward compact, energy-efficient optical D2D links for next-generation AI scale-up architectures.”
“AI scale-up requires die-to-die connectivity that delivers high bandwidth density while minimizing latency, power, and area,” said Tony Chan Carusone, SVP of Technology at Qualcomm Technologies. “This collaboration shows how Qualcomm Technologies’ D2D interface technology can extend those capabilities into optical links for future AI system architectures.”
“As optical links move closer to compute devices, fiber connectivity must support increasing density, precision, and scalability,” said Claude Echahamian, Vice President and General Manager of Emerging Businesses and EMEA at Corning Optical Communications. “Corning’s multimode fiber solutions and industry-leading MMC connectivity help enable this demonstration and support the evolution of high-density optical interconnects for AI infrastructure.”
