Will Co-Packaged Optics Transform Data Centers?
Data Center Knowledge, Thursday, June 11th, 2026
Co-packaged optics promise major efficiency and bandwidth gains but face cost, thermal, and adoption hurdles.
Co-packaged optics (CPO) integrates optical transceivers directly with processors to cut data travel distance, offering potential power efficiency improvements up to 350% and bandwidth gains up to 1,000%.
The technology converts electrical to optical signals more efficiently than traditional separated components. However, barriers limit adoption: limited hardware availability, thermal management challenges, maintenance difficulty, and reliance on proprietary vendor solutions. CPO remains largely experimental, with hyperscalers like Meta running pilots and vendors like Broadcom offering CPO-capable switches.
As global data traffic accelerates, CPO may eventually become economically justified, though the timeline for mainstream adoption remains uncertain.