BOSTON (January 15, 2025) – There is widespread interest in Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) components for AI applications as new deployments by hyperscale operators appear imminent, according to research firm Cignal AI’s latest Optical Circuit Switching Market Active Insight report.
Google has catalyzed market interest by demonstrating compelling power savings and flexibility with OCS technology in applications such as spine replacement and AI cluster reconfiguration. In response, other hyperscalers and AI hardware vendors are evaluating the technology and attacking the inherent challenging software requirements in pursuit of similar benefits.
“OCS components are emerging as a critical technology for rapid reconfiguration and scaling of AI systems. There is activity at multiple operators who are now applying significant resources to this area and will pave the way to a $1B+ market,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst at Cignal AI. “Hyperscale operators and AI hardware vendors will integrate the technology along different timelines, and while widespread adoption of OCS in the near-term is unlikely, longer-term trends point to this outcome.”
Additional Optical Circuit Switching Report Details:
- This report expands on Cignal AI’s initial report in July 2024, which first examined the OCS market and uncovered high vendor activity and market interest.
- Cignal AI estimates that Google has spent between $500M and $1B on OCS over the past five years as it made this technology an integral part of multiple applications in its infrastructure.
- In addition to Google, at least one other hyperscaler will deploy OCS this year inside the datacenter and at least three others are deep in vendor discussions for multiple applications.
- AI hardware suppliers like Nvidia will integrate OCS into software and hardware offerings, lowering the barrier to entry for OCS technology as operators won’t need to engineer the complex software solutions themselves.
- Vendors are using a variety of technologies to target different end market applications, the largest of which is currently MEMS based solutions.
- This updated report includes a new application/port cost model that supports a forecast through 2029.
About the Report
The Optical Circuit Switching Market Report is part of Cignal AI’s Active Insight research service. The Optical Circuit Switching Market Report details datacenter applications for OCS, reviews the different technologies addressing the market, examines the impact on the Transceiver market, reviews vendor offerings and introduces a forecasting model for the market. Refer to the report for a full table of contents.
Active Insight market reports provide real-time reporting on important developments in the optical market, including detailed analysis of key product trends, show reports, summaries of quarterly earnings calls, and vendor reports. This information service is provided free of charge with subscriptions to Cignal AI’s Transport Hardware Report and Optical Component Report, and it is also available for purchase separately. You may view the archive of reports and can enquire about purchasing Active Insight by contacting [email protected].
About Cignal AI
Cignal AI provides active and insightful market research for the networking component and equipment market and the market’s end customers. Our work blends expertise from a variety of disciplines to create a uniquely informed perspective on the evolution of networking communications.
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