One-sentence summary
Nvidia showed its next-gen co-packaged optics OOI (Optics-on-Interposer) in San Francisco: the optical engine drops its own organic substrate and shares the compute chip's silicon interposer to shorten electrical paths; it has only prototypes with no commercial timeline.
What Is OOI
OOI means Optics-on-Interposer. Per optical-chip executives, the key difference from current CPO is that the optical engine (OE) no longer has its own organic substrate, but shares the interposer with the compute chip.
How It Differs from Current CPO
In mass-produced CPO today, the optical engine sits on an organic substrate beside the switch chip. OOI moves it onto the compute chip's silicon interposer, removing the organic substrate and shortening the electrical path.
Commercial Timing
Nvidia gave no commercial timeline for OOI, saying only that it has prototype samples. Rubin brings first-gen CPO from H2 2026 and scales in 2027; Rubin Ultra plans to extend CPO to cross-rack interconnect after 2027.
Impact on Optical Industry
Industry sources stress OOI will not affect China's optical-communications industry in the near to mid term.
Sources
- Guancha (QQ News): November 1 hard-tech brief