NVIDIA Announces Spectrum-X Photonics, Co-Packaged Optics Networking Switches to Scale AI Factories to Millions of GPUs
NVIDIA has unveiled groundbreaking networking technology with the announcement of Spectrum-X and Quantum-X silicon photonics networking switches, designed to revolutionize AI factory connectivity. These switches enable connecting millions of GPUs while achieving significant improvements in efficiency and performance.
The new technology delivers 3.5x more power efficiency, 63x greater signal integrity, 10x better network resiliency, and 1.3x faster deployment compared to traditional methods. The Spectrum-X Ethernet platform offers configurations of up to 512 ports of 800Gb/s, achieving 400Tb/s total throughput, while providing 1.6x bandwidth density versus traditional Ethernet.
Through collaborations with industry leaders including TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum, and SENKO, NVIDIA has developed an integrated silicon and optics process supply chain. The Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand switches will be available later in 2025, while Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet switches are scheduled for release in 2026.
NVIDIA ha svelato una tecnologia di rete innovativa con l'annuncio degli Spectrum-X e degli
La nuova tecnologia offre 3,5 volte maggiore efficienza energetica, 63 volte maggiore integrità del segnale, 10 volte migliore resilienza della rete e 1,3 volte più veloce distribuzione rispetto ai metodi tradizionali. La piattaforma Ethernet Spectrum-X offre configurazioni fino a 512 porte da 800Gb/s, raggiungendo un throughput totale di 400Tb/s, garantendo al contempo una densità di banda 1,6 volte superiore rispetto all'Ethernet tradizionale.
Grazie a collaborazioni con leader del settore come TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum e SENKO, NVIDIA ha sviluppato una catena di fornitura integrata di processi in silicio e ottica. Gli interruttori Photonics InfiniBand Quantum-X saranno disponibili entro la fine del 2025, mentre gli interruttori Ethernet Photonics Spectrum-X sono previsti per il rilascio nel 2026.
NVIDIA ha presentado una tecnología de red innovadora con el anuncio de los Spectrum-X y los conmutadores de red de fotónica de silicio Quantum-X, diseñados para revolucionar la conectividad en fábricas de inteligencia artificial. Estos conmutadores permiten conectar millones de GPUs, logrando mejoras significativas en eficiencia y rendimiento.
La nueva tecnología ofrece 3.5 veces más eficiencia energética, 63 veces mayor integridad de la señal, 10 veces mejor resiliencia de la red y 1.3 veces más rápida implementación en comparación con los métodos tradicionales. La plataforma Ethernet Spectrum-X ofrece configuraciones de hasta 512 puertos de 800Gb/s, alcanzando un rendimiento total de 400Tb/s, proporcionando además una densidad de ancho de banda 1.6 veces superior en comparación con el Ethernet tradicional.
A través de colaboraciones con líderes de la industria como TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum y SENKO, NVIDIA ha desarrollado una cadena de suministro integrada de procesos de silicio y óptica. Los conmutadores Photonics InfiniBand Quantum-X estarán disponibles a finales de 2025, mientras que los conmutadores Ethernet Photonics Spectrum-X están programados para su lanzamiento en 2026.
NVIDIA는 인공지능 공장 연결성을 혁신하기 위해 설계된 Spectrum-X와 Quantum-X 실리콘 포토닉스 네트워크 스위치의 발표로 획기적인 네트워킹 기술을 공개했습니다. 이 스위치는 수백만 개의 GPU를 연결할 수 있도록 하여 효율성과 성능에서 상당한 개선을 달성합니다.
새로운 기술은 전통적인 방법에 비해 3.5배 더 높은 전력 효율성, 63배 더 높은 신호 무결성, 10배 더 나은 네트워크 복원력, 1.3배 더 빠른 배포를 제공합니다. Spectrum-X 이더넷 플랫폼은 800Gb/s의 512개 포트까지 구성할 수 있으며, 총 400Tb/s의 처리량을 달성하면서 기존 이더넷에 비해 1.6배의 대역폭 밀도를 제공합니다.
TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum 및 SENKO와 같은 업계 리더들과의 협력을 통해 NVIDIA는 통합된 실리콘 및 광학 프로세스 공급망을 개발했습니다. Quantum-X 포토닉스 인피니밴드 스위치는 2025년 말에 출시될 예정이며, Spectrum-X 포토닉스 이더넷 스위치는 2026년에 출시될 예정입니다.
NVIDIA a dévoilé une technologie de réseau révolutionnaire avec l'annonce des Spectrum-X et des commutateurs de réseau en photonique de silicium Quantum-X, conçus pour révolutionner la connectivité des usines d'intelligence artificielle. Ces commutateurs permettent de connecter des millions de GPU tout en réalisant des améliorations significatives en matière d'efficacité et de performance.
La nouvelle technologie offre 3,5 fois plus d'efficacité énergétique, 63 fois une meilleure intégrité du signal, 10 fois une meilleure résilience du réseau et 1,3 fois un déploiement plus rapide par rapport aux méthodes traditionnelles. La plateforme Ethernet Spectrum-X propose des configurations allant jusqu'à 512 ports de 800Gb/s, atteignant un débit total de 400Tb/s, tout en offrant une densité de bande passante 1,6 fois supérieure par rapport à l'Ethernet traditionnel.
Grâce à des collaborations avec des leaders de l'industrie tels que TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum et SENKO, NVIDIA a développé une chaîne d'approvisionnement intégrée pour les processus en silicium et en optique. Les commutateurs Photonics InfiniBand Quantum-X seront disponibles fin 2025, tandis que les commutateurs Ethernet Photonics Spectrum-X sont prévus pour 2026.
NVIDIA hat eine bahnbrechende Netzwerktechnologie mit der Ankündigung der Spectrum-X und der Quantum-X Silizium-Photonik-Netzwerkschalter vorgestellt, die dazu entwickelt wurden, die Konnektivität in KI-Fabriken zu revolutionieren. Diese Schalter ermöglichen es, Millionen von GPUs zu verbinden und dabei signifikante Verbesserungen in Effizienz und Leistung zu erzielen.
Die neue Technologie bietet 3,5-mal mehr Energieeffizienz, 63-mal höhere Signalintegrität, 10-mal bessere Netzwerkresilienz und 1,3-mal schnellere Bereitstellung im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Methoden. Die Spectrum-X Ethernet-Plattform bietet Konfigurationen von bis zu 512 Ports mit 800Gb/s und erreicht eine Gesamtbandbreite von 400Tb/s, während sie eine 1,6-mal höhere Bandbreitendichte im Vergleich zu herkömmlichem Ethernet bietet.
Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Branchenführern wie TSMC, Coherent, Corning, Foxconn, Lumentum und SENKO hat NVIDIA eine integrierte Lieferkette für Silizium- und Optikprozesse entwickelt. Die Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand-Schalter werden Ende 2025 verfügbar sein, während die Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet-Schalter für die Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2026 geplant sind.
- Revolutionary networking technology enabling million-GPU AI factories
- 3.5x improved power efficiency reducing operational costs
- 400Tb/s total throughput capacity
- Strong industry partnerships with TSMC and other leading manufacturers
- 2x faster speeds and 5x higher scalability in Quantum-X vs previous generation
- Spectrum-X Ethernet switches won't be available until 2026
- Requires significant infrastructure changes for implementation
Insights
NVIDIA's announcement of Spectrum-X Photonics and Quantum-X silicon photonics networking switches represents a strategic expansion of its AI infrastructure portfolio, addressing a critical bottleneck in scaling AI systems to unprecedented levels.
The technological advancements are substantial: these switches integrate silicon photonics directly into networking hardware, delivering 3.5x energy savings, 63x greater signal integrity, and 10x better network resiliency compared to traditional approaches. With 1.6 Terabits per second per port, these switches can efficiently connect millions of GPUs across massive AI deployments.
From a competitive standpoint, this move strengthens NVIDIA's vertical integration strategy, expanding from compute dominance (GPUs) into the critical networking layer of AI infrastructure. By solving the networking challenges for ultra-scale AI factories, NVIDIA is essentially removing a key constraint to deploying even larger AI systems – which would naturally require more NVIDIA GPUs.
The ecosystem approach is particularly noteworthy, with partnerships spanning from advanced semiconductor manufacturing (TSMC) to optical components (Coherent, Corning, Lumentum) and system integration (Foxconn). This collaborative model ensures NVIDIA can reliably produce these complex systems at scale.
From an investment perspective, this represents a meaningful expansion of NVIDIA's total addressable market in the AI infrastructure space. While the Quantum-X InfiniBand switches will be available later this year, the Spectrum-X Ethernet switches won't arrive until 2026, creating a phased revenue opportunity.
The announcement underscores NVIDIA's commitment to owning the entire AI infrastructure stack, from chips to networking to software. By solving the connectivity challenges that limit AI scaling, NVIDIA is positioning itself as the primary beneficiary of continued AI infrastructure investment.
- 1.6 Terabits Per Second Per Port Switches to Deliver 3.5x Energy Savings and 10x Resilience in AI Factories
- Joint Inventions and Collaborations With TSMC, Coherent, Corning Incorporated, Foxconn, Lumentum and SENKO to Create Integrated Silicon, Optics Process and Supply Chain
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GTC -- NVIDIA today unveiled NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ and NVIDIA Quantum-X silicon photonics networking switches, which enable AI factories to connect millions of GPUs across sites while drastically reducing energy consumption and operational costs. NVIDIA has achieved the fusion of electronic circuits and optical communications at massive scale.
As AI factories grow to unprecedented sizes, networks must evolve to keep pace. NVIDIA photonics switches are the world’s most advanced networking solution. They integrate optics innovations with 4x fewer lasers to deliver 3.5x more power efficiency, 63x greater signal integrity, 10x better network resiliency at scale and 1.3x faster deployment compared with traditional methods.
“AI factories are a new class of data centers with extreme scale, and networking infrastructure must be reinvented to keep pace,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “By integrating silicon photonics directly into switches, NVIDIA is shattering the old limitations of hyperscale and enterprise networks and opening the gate to million-GPU AI factories.”
NVIDIA silicon photonics networking switches are available as part of the NVIDIA Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet and NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand platforms.
The Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform delivers superior performance and 1.6x bandwidth density compared with traditional Ethernet for multi-tenant, hyperscale AI factories, including the largest supercomputer in the world.
NVIDIA Spectrum-X Photonics switches include multiple configurations, including 128 ports of 800Gb/s or 512 ports of 200Gb/s, delivering 100Tb/s total bandwidth, as well as 512 ports of 800Gb/s or 2,048 ports of 200Gb/s, for a total throughput of 400Tb/s.
NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics switches provide 144 ports of 800Gb/s InfiniBand based on 200Gb/s SerDes and use a liquid-cooled design to efficiently cool the onboard silicon photonics. NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics switches offer 2x faster speeds and 5x higher scalability for AI compute fabrics compared with the previous generation.
A Networked Ecosystem
NVIDIA’s silicon photonics ecosystem includes TSMC, Browave, Coherent, Corning Incorporated, Fabrinet, Foxconn, Lumentum, SENKO, SPIL, Sumitomo Electric Industries and TFC Communication.
“A new wave of AI factories requires efficiency and minimal maintenance to achieve the scale required for next-generation workloads,” said C. C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC. “TSMC’s silicon photonics solution combines our strengths in both cutting-edge chip manufacturing and TSMC-SoIC 3D chip stacking to help NVIDIA unlock an AI factory’s ability to scale to a million GPUs and beyond, pushing the boundaries of AI.”
NVIDIA photonics will drive massive growth for a new wave of state-of-the-art AI factories, alongside pluggable optical transceiver technologies supported by industry leaders including Coherent, Eoptolink, Fabrinet and Innolight.
Availability
NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand switches are expected to be available later this year, with NVIDIA Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet switches coming in 2026 from leading infrastructure and system vendors.
Learn more by watching the NVIDIA GTC keynote and register for sessions from NVIDIA and industry leaders at the show, which runs through March 21.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.
For further information, contact:
Alex Shapiro
Enterprise Networking
1-415-608-5044
ashapiro@nvidia.com
NVIDIA Sans 9pt font: Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the benefits, impact, availability, and performance of NVIDIA’s products, services, and technologies; third parties adopting or offering NVIDIA’s products and technologies; and by integrating silicon photonics directly into switches, NVIDIA is shattering the old limitations of hyperscale and enterprise networks and opening the gate to million-GPU AI factories are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to our existing product and technologies; market acceptance of our products or our partners' products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company's website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
© 2025 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo and NVIDIA Spectrum-X are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
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FAQ
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