According to a CNBC report ( AMD has joined Nvidia in investing heavily in photonics technology, which uses light...

According to a CNBC report (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/29/nvidia-photonics-investment-ai.html), AMD has joined Nvidia in investing heavily in photonics technology, which uses light instead of electricity to transmit data, to overcome energy-efficiency bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. Specifically, AMD participated in Ayer Labs' $500 million Series E funding round and has made equity investments in Teramount and Celestial AI. Additionally, AMD acquired photonics startup Enosemi in 2025. These moves indicate AMD's strategic push to secure advanced optical interconnect solutions for next-generation AI systems, potentially reducing energy consumption and scaling GPU clusters. The investments align with AMD's broader heterogeneous computing strategy, as highlighted by CEO Lisa Su in a recent statement (https://www.techradar.com/computing/computing-components/quote-of-the-day-by-amd-ceo-lisa-su-the-age-of-traditional-computing-is-dead-marking-the-start-of-the-heterogeneous-computing-era). By investing in photonics, AMD aims to mitigate the scalability and performance limits of electrical interconnects, positioning itself to compete more effectively in AI infrastructure alongside Nvidia.