Kaiyuan Securities released a research report stating that NVIDIA (NVDA.US) CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the NVIDIA Vera Rubin POD AI supercomputer and the NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet co-packaged optics, among other products, at CES 2026. The shipment of Vera Rubin cabinets is expected to drive increased demand for CPO, optical modules, and liquid cooling. The silicon photonics wave is accelerating the evolution of the CPO industry, which is anticipated to spur growth in demand for silicon photonic light engines and supporting processes, CW light sources, optical fibers, FAUs, and MPO/MTP connectors. Among these, the silicon photonic light engine, as a core component of CPO and sharing technological origins with silicon photonic optical modules, represents a key entry point for traditional optical module manufacturers. Deep involvement by leading manufacturers is likely to catalyze a new round of industrial evolution. The main views of Kaiyuan Securities are as follows:
NVIDIA's release of the Vera Rubin cabinet and other products is expected to accelerate demand for CPO, optical modules, and liquid cooling. The trend towards silicon photonics is clear, and CPO development is speeding up. On January 5, 2026, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang introduced the NVIDIA Vera Rubin POD AI supercomputer and NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet co-packaged optics at CES 2026. At the cabinet level, the Vera Rubin NVL72 boasts 2 trillion transistors, with NVFP4 inference performance reaching 3.6 EFLOPS and NVFP4 training performance reaching 2.5 EFLOPS. Its LPDDR5X memory capacity is 54TB, 2.5 times that of the previous generation; total HBM4 memory reaches 20.7TB, 1.5 times the prior generation; HBM4 bandwidth is 1.6 PB/s, 2.8 times higher; and total vertical scaling bandwidth reaches 260 TB/s. Furthermore, the Rubin NVL72 is based on the third-generation MGX rack design, featuring a modular, host-free, cable-free, and fanless compute tray. This design enables assembly and maintenance speeds 18 times faster than the GB200, reducing a typical 2-hour assembly process to approximately 5 minutes, enhancing standardization. Additionally, the compute nodes, switch nodes, and CPO nodes all utilize 100% cold plate liquid cooling to meet the thermal management needs of CPUs, GPUs, switch chips, network cards, and optical modules, thereby increasing the value contribution of liquid cooling. The NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet CPO employs a 2-chip design with 200Gbps SerDes; each ASIC supports 128 ports of 800Gb/s, delivering 102.4 Tb/s bandwidth to support scale-out and facilitate continuous expansion of cluster sizes.
The shipment of Vera Rubin cabinets may drive increased demand for CPO, optical modules, and liquid cooling. Amid the silicon photonics wave, the CPO industry is evolving rapidly. Silicon photonics and CPO are poised to boost demand across multiple sectors. CPO is expected to fuel growth in demand for silicon photonic light engines and supporting processes, CW light sources, optical fibers, FAUs, and MPO/MTP connectors, particularly benefiting the following segments: The light engine segment, including silicon photonic devices/modules and supporting silicon photonics processes. Silicon photonic devices/modules: The silicon photonic light engine, as a core CPO component and sharing technological roots with silicon photonic optical modules, serves as a critical entry point for traditional optical module makers. Deep strategic deployments by leading manufacturers could usher in a new phase of industrial evolution. Supporting silicon photonics processes: From a process flow perspective, silicon photonics is increasingly converging with microelectronics technology, highlighting investment opportunities in supporting process equipment and software vendors, such as light engine packaging and testing equipment, simulation tools, and design software. The optical interconnect segment, including ELS/CW light sources, TECs, FAUs, optical fibers, and fiber connectors. ELS & CW light sources: With ELS as the current mainstream CPO light source solution, the application of silicon photonics is expected to further drive demand for CW light sources, underscoring the importance of ELS and CW chip suppliers. Passive components: Compared to traditional pluggable optical module solutions, the CPO approach introduces additional optical fibers and connectors within the switch, including polarization-maintaining fibers, FAUs, and fiber connectors (such as MPO/MT/expanded beam connectors). Depending on the fiber management scheme, passive products like Fiber Shuffles may also be involved, emphasizing the relevance of related passive component suppliers.
Focus on investment opportunities within the silicon photonics and CPO industry chain, with emphasis on the "Four Key Picks" + "Three Rising Stars" portfolio. The "Four Key Picks" (silicon photonic light engines and CW) recommended stocks: Zhongji Innolight (300308.SZ), Eoptolink Technology Inc.,Ltd. (300502.SZ), Sanan Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. (688498.SH), and TFC Optical Communication (300394.SZ). The "Three Rising Stars" (silicon photonics equipment and optical interconnect) beneficiary stocks: Robotec (300757.SZ), ZSUN Technology (301486.SZ), and Focuslight Technologies Inc. (688167.SH), among others. Risk factors include AI development falling short of expectations, intensifying industry competition, and Sino-US trade frictions.
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