STMicroelectronics, a big tech company, announced on Thursday that it is launching a new type of computer chip designed for AI data centers.
This chip was developed with help from Amazon’s cloud service, AWS. According to Reuters, the chip uses light instead of electricity to make data centers faster and more energy-efficient.
This is important because companies like Amazon plan to spend $500 billion on AI infrastructure, and they need better chips to handle the growing demand.
Reuters reports that STMicroelectronics is focusing on a part of the market called “photonics,” which uses light to send data. This new chip will be used in devices called transceivers, which are crucial for moving data in AI data centers.
The company’s manager, Vincent Fraisse, said AWS will use this technology in their systems once it’s ready later this year.
STMicroelectronics is also working with a top optical solutions provider (though they didn’t name the company) to use the chip in next-generation transceivers.
The market for these devices is huge and growing fast. Research firm LightCounting says it was worth $7 billion in 2024 and could reach $24 billion by 2030. STMicroelectronics will make these chips in their factory in Crolles, France.
Reuters highlights that this partnership with Amazon and the focus on photonics could give STMicroelectronics a big advantage in the booming AI data center market.
Credit : Reuters