Tech giants unite to revolutionize AI infrastructure with optical standards

Six major tech firms have joined forces to launch the Optical Scale-up Consortium. The group includes AMD, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. Their goal is to develop open standards for AI infrastructure using advanced optical technology. The consortium grew out of the Optical Compute Interconnect Multi-Source Agreement (OCI MSA). This initiative focuses on improving bandwidth density and system scalability for AI workloads. Early specifications already support 200 Gbps per direction with NRZ modulation and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM).

The first-generation OCI standard (Gen1) delivers 4× 50 Gbps NRZ, while Gen2 doubles capacity to 400 Gbps bidirectional. Future roadmaps target even higher speeds, aiming for 3.2 terabits per second (Tbps) per fibre. The design also supports pluggable, co-packaged, and integrated optics (CPO) form factors. The group wants to create a 'plug-and-play' ecosystem with interoperable optical interfaces. Their approach aims to match the performance, power efficiency, and cost benefits traditionally seen only with copper-based systems. So far, no other companies have publicly expressed interest in joining the effort.

The consortium's work could reshape how AI systems connect and scale. By standardising optical interfaces, they hope to simplify high-speed data transfer across different hardware. The first specifications are already available, with faster versions planned for future releases.