September 7, 2026, Shenzhen, China. – Two of the world’s leading optical communications industry events — the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE 2026) and the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2026) — will take place in September. As a global provider of differentiated high-speed optical interconnect solutions, GIGALIGHT will showcase its latest semi-DSP/HYBRID 1.6T silicon photonics transceiver family and HYBRID active copper cable products at both events.

Through architecture-level innovation, GIGALIGHT aims to overcome interconnect bottlenecks in AI computing clusters and provide data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) centers worldwide with next-generation optical interconnect solutions featuring low power consumption, high bandwidth, and cost efficiency.

The HYBRID product portfolio to be showcased includes:

• 1.6T OSFP-HRO 2×DR4 Silicon Photonics Transceiver
• 800G OSFP-HRO 2×DR4 Silicon Photonics Transceiver
• 800G OSFP HYBRID VR8-AOC Active Optical Cable
• 800G OSFP HYBRID PSM8-AOC Active Optical Cable

I. Addressing Industry Challenges and Rebuilding the Foundation of AI Computing Interconnects

HYBRID Architecture

As the scale of AI large-model training clusters surpasses the 100,000-GPU level, conventional pluggable optical transceiver solutions face three major challenges: high power consumption, high latency, and high cost, which have become critical bottlenecks limiting the efficiency of AI computing infrastructure.

Although LPO optical modules have attracted significant industry attention, their performance constraints have limited their deployment in practical applications.

At this year’s exhibitions, GIGALIGHT will showcase its semi-DSP/HYBRID 800G silicon photonics transceiver, featuring an innovative hybrid architecture that combines half DSP and half linear direct drive. This architecture retains the advantages of a pluggable form factor while significantly simplifying the signal-processing chain.

Compared with conventional full-DSP solutions, the HYBRID architecture can reduce overall power consumption by more than 30% and compress end-to-end latency to the sub-microsecond level. Meanwhile, the high degree of component reuse enabled by silicon photonics integration reduces overall system costs by more than 25%.

II. Three Core Advantages Redefining the 800G/1.6T Interconnect Benchmark

Low Power Consumption

Compared with conventional full-DSP 800G/1.6T silicon photonics transceivers, the HYBRID architecture reduces overall power consumption by 25%–35%.

Typical operating power can be controlled to below 12W for 800G and below 21W for 1.6T.

A single module can potentially save nearly 100 kWh of electricity per year in a data center, while a cluster deployed at a scale of tens of thousands of modules could achieve annual electricity savings reaching the million-kWh level.

High Cost Efficiency

By reducing DSP resource requirements and reusing mature silicon photonics integration technologies, the HYBRID architecture can reduce overall BOM costs by more than 20%.

Stable Transmission Performance

Leveraging the high level of integration provided by silicon photonics, the solution can achieve a pre-FEC BER at the E-8 level in 50-meter multimode transmission scenarios and a BER as low as E-9 over 500-meter single-mode fiber.

These capabilities fully meet the requirements for short- and medium-distance interconnects within and between racks in AI computing centers. The modules can be directly deployed without requiring additional hardware tuning of existing switches or network interface cards (NICs).

III. Joint Presence at CIOE and ECOC: Demonstrating the Feasibility and Reliability of Semi-DSP Copper and Optical Interconnects

To demonstrate the practical value of its HYBRID architecture, GIGALIGHT’s technical team will conduct demonstrations using its self-developed CHECKER loopback testing system, together with on-site validation using NVIDIA switches.

The demonstrations will provide global cloud service providers and industry partners with an in-depth explanation of the technical specifications and implementation of the semi-DSP architecture, helping accelerate the integration of this innovative solution into the global AI computing infrastructure supply chain.

“As AI computing infrastructure enters a sustained period of strong growth, GIGALIGHT’s global showcase of its semi-DSP/HYBRID product portfolio — particularly the global debut of its 1.6T HYBRID silicon photonics transceiver — will introduce a new architectural approach to the global optical communications industry. It will help accelerate the evolution of AI computing interconnects toward a better balance among power consumption, latency, and performance,” said a GIGALIGHT technical representative.

About GIGALIGHT

As an open optical networking explorer, GIGALIGHT integrates the design, manufacturing, and sales of both active and passive optical devices and subsystems. The company’s product portfolio includes III-V optical modules, silicon photonics modules and silicon-based NPO/CPO engines, liquid-cooled optical modules, passive optical components, Active Optical Cables (AOCs), Direct Attach Cables (DACs), coherent optical communication modules, OPEN DCI BOX subsystems based on coherent and O-band DWDM optical modules, and UHD SDI video optical transceivers. GIGALIGHT focuses on applications including AI data centers, 5G transport networks, metropolitan WDM transmission, and ultra-HD broadcast and video, positioning itself as an innovative designer of high-speed optical interconnect hardware solutions.