News | March 9, 2026

STMicroelectronics Enters High-Volume Production Of Its Industry-Leading Silicon Photonics Platform To Support AI Infrastructure Demand

  • PIC100 technology in 300 mm high-volume production for leading hyperscalers, with plans to quadruple capacity by 2027 and further expand in 2028
  • ST unveils PIC100 through-silicon via (TSV) upcoming technology roadmap

Geneva, Switzerland (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, is now entering high-volume production for its state-of-the-art silicon photonics-based PIC100 platform used by hyperscalers for optical interconnect for data centers and AI clusters. The 800G and 1.6T PIC100 transceivers enable higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater energy efficiency as AI workloads surge.

“Following the announcement of its new silicon photonics technology in February 2025, ST is now entering high-volume production for leading hyperscalers. The combination of our technology platform and the superior scale of our 300 mm manufacturing lines gives us a unique competitive advantage to support the AI infrastructure super-cycle,” said Fabio Gualandris, President, Quality, Manufacturing & Technology, STMicroelectronics. “Looking ahead, we are planning and executing on capacity expansions to enable more than quadrupling of production by 2027. This fast expansion is fully underpinned by customers’ long-term capacity reservation commitments.”

“The data center pluggable optics market continues to expand strongly, reaching $15.5 billion in 2025. We expect the market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from 2025 through 2030, surpassing $34 billion by the end of the forecast period. In addition, co-packaged optics (CPO) will emerge as a rapidly growing segment, contributing more than $9 billion in revenue by 2030. Over the same period, the share of transceivers incorporating silicon photonics modulators is projected to increase from 43% in 2025 to 76% by 2030,” said Dr. Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst at LightCounting. “ST’s leading silicon photonics platform coupled with its aggressive capacity expansion plan illustrates its capabilities to provide hyperscalers with secure, long-term supply, predictable quality, and manufacturing resilience.”

Upcoming PIC100 TSV Platform Technology
AI infrastructure is experiencing unprecedented scaling, with cloud-optical interconnect performance becoming a critical bottleneck. Drawing on years of silicon photonics innovation, ST’s PIC100 platform provides state-of-the-art optical performance, including best-in-class silicon and silicon nitride waveguide losses (respectively as low as 0.4 and 0.5 dB/cm), advanced modulator and photodiode performance, as well as an innovative edge coupling technology.

In parallel with high-volume PIC100 production, ST is planning to introduce the next step in its silicon photonics technology roadmap: the PIC100 TSV, a new and unique platform that integrates through-silicon via (TSV) technology to further increase optical connectivity density, module integration, and system-level thermal efficiency. The PIC100 TSV platform is designed to support future generations of Near Packaged Optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO), aligning with hyperscalers’ long-term migration paths toward deeper optical–electronic integration for scale up.

ST at OFC 2026
ST will discuss business and technology roadmap updates at the upcoming Optical Fiber Communication Conference® (March 15-19th), Los Angeles, USA:

  • paper titled “An Innovative 300mm Back Side Integrated Silicon Photonics Platform for 200Gbits/lane Applications”
  • First PIC100-based demo of a 1.6T-DR8 silicon photonics transceiver, engine by Sicoya and STMicroelectronics. See it on the Sicoya booth #507

Participation to the CEA-Leti event: “Optical Interconnects: Driving Innovation in AI Factory and Beyond” (March 18, 6-8pm PT)

About STMicroelectronics
At ST, we are 48,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of cloud-connected autonomous things. We are on track to be carbon neutral in all direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1 and 2), product transportation, business travel, and employee commuting emissions (our scope 3 focus), and to achieve our 100% renewable electricity sourcing goal by the end of 2027.

Further information can be found at www.st.com

Forward-looking Information
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  • changes in global trade policies, including the continuation, adoption and expansion of tariffs and trade barriers and sanctions, that are affecting and could further affect the macro-economic environment and are adversely impacting and could further adversely impact the demand for our products;
  • uncertain macro-economic and industry trends (such as inflation and fluctuations in supply chains), which are impacting and may further impact production capacity and end-market demand for our products;
  • customer demand that differs from projections which may require us to undertake transformation measures that may not be successful in realizing the expected benefits in full or at all;
  • the ability to design, manufacture and sell innovative products in a rapidly changing technological environment;
  • changes in economic, social, public health, labor, political, or infrastructure conditions in the locations where we, our customers, or our suppliers operate, including as a result of macro-economic or regional events, geopolitical and military conflicts, social unrest, labor actions, or terrorist activities;
  • unanticipated events or circumstances, which may impact our ability to execute our plans and/or meet the objectives of our R&D and manufacturing programs, which benefit from public funding;
  • financial difficulties with any of our major distributors or significant curtailment of purchases by key customers;
  • the loading, product mix, and manufacturing performance of our production facilities and/or our required volume to fulfill capacity reserved with suppliers or third-party manufacturing providers;
  • availability and costs of equipment, raw materials, utilities, third-party manufacturing services and technology, or other supplies required by our operations (including increasing costs resulting from inflation);
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  • theft, loss, or misuse of personal data about our employees, customers, or other third parties, and breaches of data privacy legislation;
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  • changes in our overall tax position as a result of changes in tax rules, new or revised legislation, the outcome of tax audits or changes in international tax treaties which may impact our results of operations as well as our ability to accurately estimate tax credits, benefits, deductions and provisions and to realize deferred tax assets;
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  • the outcome of ongoing litigation as well as the impact of any new litigation to which we may become a defendant;
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  • natural events such as severe weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions or other acts of nature, the effects of climate change, health risks and epidemics or pandemics in locations where we, our customers or our suppliers operate;
  • increased regulation and initiatives in our industry, including those concerning climate change and sustainability matters and our goal to become carbon neutral in all direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1 and 2), product transportation, business travel, and employee commuting emissions (our scope 3 focus), and to achieve our 100% renewable electricity sourcing goal by the end of 2027;
  • epidemics or pandemics, which may negatively impact the global economy in a significant manner for an extended period of time, and could also materially adversely affect our business and operating results;
  • industry changes resulting from vertical and horizontal consolidation among our suppliers, competitors, and customers;
  • the ability to successfully ramp up new programs that could be impacted by factors beyond our control, including the availability of critical third-party components and performance of subcontractors in line with our expectations; and
  • individual customer use of certain products, which may differ from the anticipated uses of such products and result in differences in performance, including energy consumption, may lead to a failure to achieve our disclosed emission-reduction goals, adverse legal action or additional research costs.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of our business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “believes”, “expects”, “may”, “are expected to”, “should”, “would be”, “seeks” or “anticipates” or similar expressions or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.

Some of these risk factors are set forth and are discussed in more detail in “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 26, 2026. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this press release as anticipated, believed or expected. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Unfavorable changes in the above or other factors listed under “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” from time to time in our SEC filings, could have a material adverse effect on our business and/or financial condition.

Source: STMicroelectronics International NV