How Nvidia learned to embrace the light in its quest for scale

If you thought Nvidia's GB200 rack systems were big, CEO Jensen Huang is just getting started. At GTC last month, the world's most valuable company revealed plans to use photonic interconnects to pack more than a thousand GPUs into a single mammoth system by 2028.

The company isn't waiting to secure supply chains either. Over the past month, the GPU giant has invested billions in companies specializing in optics and interconnects, like Marvell, Coherent, and Lumentum, in preparation for the widespread deployment of these systems.

"For everyone who is in our ecosystem, we need a lot more capacity," Huang said during his GTC keynote speech. "We need a lot more capacity for copper; we need a lot more capacity for optics; we need a lot more capacity for CPO; and that's why we've been working with all of you to lay the foundation for this ...