The $10T AI Buildout Has a Photonics Problem

Photonics, not GPUs alone, is the binding supply-chain constraint on AI infrastructure, and Thema is racing to build Europe's answer by 2027.

• Copper hits its limit: As GPU clusters scale and models exceed single-GPU capacity, copper interconnects can't keep pace with bandwidth needs, pushing the industry to optical/silicon photonics.
• NVIDIA catalyzed the shift: NVIDIA pushed photonics hard in 2024-25 and invested in Lumentum and Coherent at 4x the total photonics market size in just six months.

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