Global Unichip Corp. (GUC), a leader in advanced ASIC design and manufacturing, has announced a strategic partnership with Ayar Labs, a pioneer in co-packaged optics (CPO) for large-scale AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications. The collaboration aims to integrate Ayar Labs’ TeraPHY™ optical engines into GUC’s advanced packaging and ASIC development workflows, paving the way for next-generation optical interconnects that overcome the limitations of traditional electrical signaling. As data centers face escalating bandwidth demands driven by AI workloads, electrical interconnects are approaching physical and power efficiency limits. The new partnership focuses on deploying CPO technology directly within GUC’s XPU multi-chip package (MCP) architecture, replacing conventional copper traces with optical links. This innovation enables a full-duplex optical interface exceeding 100 terabits per second—more than ten times the bandwidth of current XPU designs—while significantly reducing latency and power consumption. The joint design leverages UCIe-S (64 Gbps) for communication between the optical engines and I/O chiplets across the MCP substrate, and UCIe-A (64 Gbps) for data transfer between the I/O chiplet and the main AI die via local silicon interconnect (LSI) bridges. The architecture addresses critical challenges including signal integrity, power delivery, thermal management, and mechanical stability. A newly engineered stiffener design incorporates optical engine requirements, supports detachable fiber connections, and maintains structural integrity under thermal stress and warpage constraints. Igor Elkanovich, CTO of GUC, emphasized the significance of the collaboration: “The CPO revolution is at our doorstep. Integrating Ayar Labs’ optical engines into our advanced packaging flows is a critical step toward delivering robust, high-bandwidth, and power-efficient solutions for our customers.” Vladimir Stojanovic, CTO and co-founder of Ayar Labs, added: “The future of AI and data center scale-up depends on optics to break through the electrical I/O bottleneck. Partnering with GUC on advanced packaging and silicon integration is a key milestone in accelerating the adoption of co-packaged optics across hyperscale environments.” GUC will showcase this advancement during a presentation titled “Advanced Packaging Technologies for Modular and Powerful Compute” at the 2025 TSMC Open Innovation Platform (OIP) Ecosystem Forum in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, GUC is a global leader in ASIC implementation and SoC manufacturing, leveraging cutting-edge process and packaging technologies. It is publicly traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the symbol 3443 and has a strategic alliance with TSMC, which owns 35% of GUC’s shares and serves as its sole foundry and closest technology partner. Ayar Labs, founded in 2015, specializes in optical I/O solutions that enhance compute efficiency and performance in AI training and inference systems. Its technology is built on open standards and supported by a growing ecosystem of strategic investors including AMD, NVIDIA, Intel Capital, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, and Applied Ventures.