NVIDIA and Corning announced a multiyear partnership to expand U.S. optical connectivity manufacturing for AI data centers. Corning will increase optical connectivity capacity by 10x and fiber production by more than 50% as hyperscale AI systems require faster data movement across thousands of GPUs.
The expansion includes three new manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas. Corning said the project is expected to create more than 3,000 American jobs and support domestic production of optical fiber, connectivity and photonics for AI infrastructure.
Corning’s added capacity will supply hyperscale data centers deploying NVIDIA-accelerated computing. Modern AI workloads require large volumes of high-performance optical connectivity to transmit data. As AI factories grow in size and number, optical connectivity is becoming a core part of AI infrastructure.
“AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout of our time – and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American manufacturing and supply chains,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Together with Corning, we are inventing the future of computing with advanced optical technologies – building the foundation for AI infrastructure where intelligence moves at the speed of light while advancing the proud tradition of Made in America.”
“What NVIDIA is doing is nothing short of extraordinary, not just for the future of artificial intelligence, but for the American advanced manufacturing workforce,” said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, CEO and president of Corning. “Their commitment is directly fueling the expansion of our U.S. manufacturing footprint and creating more than 3,000 new, high-paying jobs for American workers. This partnership is proof that AI is not just a technology story. It is a manufacturing story, and it is happening here in the United States. Together with NVIDIA, we are ensuring the critical technologies powering AI are invented, engineered and built in America.”
Source: NVIDIA
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, designs and manufactures graphics processing units, systems on chips, networking hardware, and AI intelligence software such as CUDA. Its products serve industries including gaming, data centers, autonomous vehicles, professional visualization, robotics, health care, and energy. The company introduced the GPU in 1999 and later expanded into accelerated computing and AI infrastructure. In gaming, its GPUs support high-performance rendering, while in AI and high-performance computing, its systems provide the infrastructure for training and deploying large-scale models. NVIDIA also develops tools for robotics and autonomous driving.
About Corning
Corning develops specialty glass, ceramics and related materials for industrial and scientific markets. The company was founded in 1851. It is headquartered in Corning, NY. Corning makes optical fiber, wireless systems and connectivity products for communications networks. It also produces emissions-control products for vehicles, cover glass for mobile devices and precision glass for displays. Its other businesses include advanced optics, life sciences products and pharmaceutical technologies. Corning serves telecom providers, device makers, display manufacturers, automakers, laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and semiconductor-related businesses. Its markets include optical communications, consumer electronics, displays, automotive and life sciences. The company reports more than 77 manufacturing sites and more than 10 R&D facilities worldwide. Corning reports more than 60,000 employees worldwide.