NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) Further Invests in the Optical Communication Field! Invests $500 million to acquire stock rights of Corning Inc (GLW.US)

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) has acquired a $500 million stake in fiber optic cable manufacturer Corning Inc (GLW.US), as part of a broader partnership aimed at expanding AI infrastructure. According to a regulatory filing on Wednesday, in this transaction, NVIDIA Corporation is acquiring up to 3 million shares at a price of $0.0001 per share, and has the right to purchase up to 15 million shares at an exercise price of $180 per share. As part of the strategic partnership between the two companies, Corning Inc will increase its production capacity to supply the fiber optics needed for data centers deploying NVIDIA Corporation chips at their core. In order to drive growth in the industry, NVIDIA Corporation has made multi-billion dollar deals in the AI ecosystem, investing in a variety of companies from AI model developers like OpenAI to other chip manufacturers like Marvell Technology, Inc. Previously, NVIDIA Corporation had invested in leading optical communications company Lumentum (LITE.US). In a statement regarding the partnership with Corning Inc, NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang emphasized how this effort will benefit the U.S. economy. Huang stated that the AI boom presents an opportunity to "revitalize American manufacturing and supply chains," and he maintains a close relationship with U.S. President Trump. Corning Inc stated that its production expansion plans include building three new factories in North Carolina and Texas. The company expects these projects to create over 3,000 new jobs in the U.S. Citi and Oppenheimer bullish on Corning Inc As a key player in the U.S. optical communications market, Corning Inc received bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts in March, following agreements with companies like Meta (META.US), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), and Lumen Technologies, highlighting the company's opportunities in the optical field and strong demand for its products. Citi analyst Asiya Merchant stated in an investor report, "Corning Inc's recent agreement with Meta, as well as potential similar agreements with other hyper-scale cloud vendors in the future, reinforce our belief - the value of each accelerator in terms of connection is around $500 to $1000 per unit, with room for increase as CPO technology is deployed. We believe that Corning Inc's cooperation with Microsoft Corporation in hollow-core optical fiber and the extended supply agreement with Lumen highlight the company's favorable position - its product demand remains strong, and customers are demonstrating this through clear commitments and investments in Corning Inc's capacity expansion plans." Citi maintains a "buy" rating on Corning Inc with a target price of $170. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer also reaffirmed its "outperform" rating on Corning Inc. Analyst Martin Yang stated in a report, "Corning Inc is successfully positioning itself as a key infrastructure provider for generative AI data center construction through deep integration with ecosystem leaders such as NVIDIA Corporation, Broadcom Inc., Meta, and Microsoft Corporation. A key valuation driver is the transformation towards co-packaged optics (CPO) and scalable data center solutions, with company management reiterating the potential for a 2 to 3 times increase in current enterprise business scale by 2030." Optimistic prospects for optical communications business growth The parameters of AI large models are still expanding at a rate of approximately 100 times every two years, and the limit of computing power now depends not only on the number of GPUs, but also on the "vessels" connecting these GPUs - the bandwidth and density of optical networks. As the first quarter of 2026 financial reporting season approaches, the market spotlight is shifting from AI computing leaders like NVIDIA Corporation to companies that are laying the "information superhighway" for AI data centers. According to the latest research from Jibang Consulting, the global market size of AI-dedicated optical transceivers is expected to leap from $16.5 billion in 2025 to $26 billion in 2026, with an annual growth rate exceeding 57%. The strong demand for 800G optical modules in North American hyper-scale data centers, combined with accelerated production of 1.6T products, is jointly creating an unprecedented "optical module super cycle."