Staff writer, with CNA
Nvidia Corp has begun shipping next-generation co-packaged optics (CPO) switches developed with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), as the US tech giant seeks to tackle data transmission and power consumption challenges in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, a Nvidia executive said yesterday.The company has begun shipping its new Spectrum-X CPO switch to select partners, Nvidia senior vice president of networking Gilad Shainer said at the company’s GTC event in Taipei.The switch uses Nvidia’s most advanced CPO technology and has a throughput of up to 400 terabits per second, he said, adding that production capacity is expected to expand in the second half of this year.
Nvidia Corp senior vice president of networking Gilad Shainer poses for a photograph at the company’s GTC event in Taipei yesterday.
CPO switches are networking devices that integrate optical engines — components that convert electrical signals into optical signals — directly with switch chips, which route data between servers and processors, to transmit data more efficiently while reducing power consumption.The push comes as AI factories rapidly expand their computing capacity, making bandwidth and power consumption between server racks in data centers key factors affecting AI performance, Shainer said.
