{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The AI Supercycle","title":"Photonic Interconnects: The Next Constraint","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/26adbc01\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1459,"description":"Episode 6: Photonic Interconnects – The Next AI Bottleneck\nFor the past several years, the AI industry has been focused on one constraint: compute. More GPUs. Larger clusters. Faster processors.\nBut that bottleneck is changing.\nAs AI systems continue to scale, the limiting factor is no longer simply how much compute we can build, but how quickly data can move between processors, servers, racks and entire AI factories. Increasingly, the constraint is the network itself.\nIn this episode, we explore photonic interconnects and explain why the future of AI infrastructure will be built on light rather than copper.\nUsing a four-layer framework, we examine where photonics fits across the AI Continuum, from connections inside processor packages, through hyperscale data centres, all the way to laser communications between satellites in orbit. We also analyse one of the least understood strategic materials in the AI supply chain: indium phosphide, the foundation of modern optical communications and an emerging geopolitical bottleneck.\nFinally, we present the QF-MI base case, highlighting where we believe the greatest investment opportunities, and risks, are likely to emerge over the next several years.\nIn This Episode\nWhy the AI bottleneck is shifting from compute to data movement\nUnderstanding the I/O Wall and why GPUs are waiting for data\nWhy copper is approaching its physical limits\nHow co-packaged optics could transform AI hardware\nThe four layers of the photonics ecosystem\nThe rapid growth of 800G and 1.6T optical networking\nWhy orbital computing depends on laser communications\nIndium phosphide: the hidden material underpinning AI infrastructure\nChina's strategic position in the optical supply chain\nThe QF-MI investment framework and key indicators we're monitoring\n\nFollow QF Markets on Substack: https://qfmarkets.substack.com\nThe Market Pulse and In the Spotlight research series are free to read. Subscribers also receive the Weekly Outlook, Weekend Debrief, and the...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/EGB2CNeTYtgbCY9EmoM0RaP0QpKAA8nMGPTJc4-3t_4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zYzBi/MjViMjg0NDU1N2Ux/OTYzOTVkYjkxZjRm/MGExOC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}