---
title: "Ayar Labs ran a live optical compute tray as Lumentum can't meet about 70% of demand for some lasers"
description: "Wiwynn, GUC and Ayar Labs ran co-packaged optics live in a compute tray at the OCP summit on October 13, 2026. The 2028 ramp now turns on laser supply: Lumentum cannot meet about 70% of demand for some products through next year, and an unconfirmed report says it cut Ayar off."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Hardware"
published: 2026-10-14T13:20:13.447Z
modified: 2026-10-14T13:20:13.447Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/ayar-labs-ran-a-live-optical-compute-tray-as-lumentum-can-t-meet-about-70-of-demand-for-some-lasers
language: en
keywords: "Optical Interconnects, Semiconductors, Data Centers, Supply Chain, Networking"
---

# Ayar Labs ran a live optical compute tray as Lumentum can't meet about 70% of demand for some lasers

> Wiwynn, GUC and Ayar Labs ran co-packaged optics live in a compute tray at the OCP summit on October 13, 2026. The 2028 ramp now turns on laser supply: Lumentum cannot meet about 70% of demand for some products through next year, and an unconfirmed report says it cut Ayar off.

## A live tray, with its light piped in from outside

On October 13, 2026, at the Open Compute Project Global Summit in San Jose, a compute tray from [Wiwynn](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/wiwynn), the Taiwanese server and rack maker, ran live with its optical links up. Silicon packaged by Global Unichip (GUC), an ASIC design services firm traded in Taipei, carried [Ayar Labs](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/ayar-labs)' TeraPHY optical engines, fed by SuperNova light sources in the industry-standard ELSFP form factor, a pluggable module that supplies the lasers the engines themselves leave out. Telemetry streamed from inside the package in an Open Rack v3-ready chassis, [the first live system-level proof](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wiwynn-ayar-labs-and-guc-advance-co-packaged-optics-with-live-demonstration-of-integrated-optical-compute-system-at-ocp-global-summit-2026-302907032.html) after earlier rack-level architecture work [1][2]. "The bar is no longer whether it works; it's whether it can be deployed and managed at scale," Ayar chief executive Mark Wade said [1]. [Ben Bajarin](https://x.com/BenBajarin/status/2110119464209699031), posting on X from the show, noted the tray's outbound network links still run on pluggable optics [3].

![A TeraPHY optical engine chip held by tweezers in Ayar Labs' lab](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/b3ea5bf5090eb07f.webp)

*A TeraPHY optical engine in Ayar Labs' lab. The engines move the data inside the package; the lasers live outside it, in SuperNova modules that are themselves in short supply. (Courtesy of Ayar Labs)*

## The light source is the part that is sold out

Co-packaged optics pushes the lasers out of the chip package and into a separate module, which makes that module the gate on the whole ramp. [Lumentum](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/lumentum) (NASDAQ: LITE), the optical and laser component maker, is effectively closed to new demand: chief executive Michael Hurlston [told Bloomberg Television in Tokyo on October 9](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/lumentum-shares-rise-3-8-104438159.html) that [Lumentum](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001633978) cannot satisfy roughly 70% of demand for some products through next year, and about 30% of demand for other products through 2028, with capacity committed into early 2029 [4][5]. New laser capacity takes about three years to reach customers, so relief arrives no earlier than 2029 or 2030, despite new fabs in Greensboro, North Carolina and Japan [4][5]. On October 6, wafer maker AXT (NASDAQ: AXTI) [announced a six-year Lumentum reservation for indium phosphide](https://ticker.report/news/axti-axt-signs-six-year-lumentum-inp-wafer-deal-as-ai-demand-surges-2026-10-06), the substrate those lasers are built on, backed by two deposits of $43.5 million, $87 million in total, running through the end of 2031; [Coherent](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/coherent) made a similar $22.29 million prepayment to AXT in June [6][7]. AXT grows all of its wafers in China, and in [a August 13 filing](https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/china-export-curbs-delay-axts-us-bound-indium-phosphide-shipments-6084439) said it could not estimate when Beijing would license indium phosphide shipments to US customers again [7]. The 2028 optical ramp is being allocated now, and the queue forms at the laser fab.

*Chart: **Lumentum's quarterly revenue has more than tripled in three years as AI demand outruns its laser capacity** Line chart of Lumentum's quarterly revenue across twelve quarters, rising from $318 million in the quarter ended September 2023 to $1.006 billion in the quarter ended June 2026.*

*Lumentum revenue by calendar quarter, in billions of dollars, from its SEC filings. Revenue grew 109% year over year in the June 2026 quarter, with gross margin at 47.4%; chief executive Michael Hurlston said on October 9 that AI demand has the company sold out into early 2029. [12]*

## An unconfirmed cut-off, and the money that moved anyway

On October 10, an X account called @insane_analyst [wrote that Lumentum had "cut off" Ayar Labs](https://x.com/insane_analyst/status/2109069278733619663) and called the ELSFP part on show "a prototype that will never ramp" [8]. Neither company has confirmed it, and Ayar sells SuperNova as its own product line [2], so it stands as a claim about supply, not a fact. The cash is on the record regardless. [Nvidia](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/nvidia) has made a $2 billion strategic investment in Lumentum [5]. Ayar [raised $650 million across 2026](https://www.stockopedia.com/share-prices/wiwynn-TPE:6669/news/ayar-labs-backed-by-chip-giants-extends-funding-round-by-150-million-01a08afa-0fdb-70cd-bbac-09995c1135af/), a $500 million Series E in March plus a $150 million extension in September that added Wiwynn as a backer, and a $225 million secondary led by Artisan Partners' Antero Peak arm valued the startup above $5 billion [9]. Wade's deadline is fixed: everything qualified for volume production by the end of 2027, for customer ramps in 2028 and 2029 [9].

*Chart: **Nvidia's check to the sold-out laser maker is triple Ayar Labs' entire 2026 raise** Bar chart ranking 2026 cash commitments across the optical supply chain: Nvidia's $2,000M investment in Lumentum, Ayar Labs' $650M raise, Lumentum's $87M in deposits to AXT, and Coherent's $22.3M prepayment to AXT.*

*Cash commitments and deposits announced in 2026, in millions of dollars. Ayar's figure is its $500M March Series E plus a $150M September extension; a $225M secondary share sale that brought no new money into the company is excluded. AXT deposits and prepayments are credited against future wafer shipments. [5][9][6][7]*

## The escape route runs through CMOS fabs

The same summit produced a second answer to the shortage. [Lightmatter](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/lightmatter) [showed a 204.8 terabit-per-second co-packaged optics switch tray, built with Flex in a single rack unit](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightmatter-delivers-open-rack-cpo-switch-and-xpu-scale-up-server-through-independent-collaborations-with-flex-and-other-industry-partners-302906361.html), and a 102.4 Tbps accelerator tray, both to open rack standards [10]. Its Guide lasers are fabricated in high-volume CMOS fabs rather than the compound-semiconductor lines that constrain the industry, and Lightmatter estimates its foundry partner could add roughly 30% to industry laser capacity over the next two years [11]. First specifications from the 20-company Open Silicon Photonics initiative land in the fourth quarter of 2026 [11]. Watch two things after that: whether a hyperscaler commits to the open trays, and whether anyone confirms who supplies Ayar's light.

## Takeaway

Co-packaged optics now runs live in a compute tray, but the 2028 ramp turns on laser supply: Lumentum cannot meet about 70% of demand for some products into next year, and who will supply Ayar Labs' light is unconfirmed.

## Sources

1. [PR Newswire, "Wiwynn, Ayar Labs, and GUC Advance Co-Packaged Optics with Live Demonstration of Integrated Optical Compute System at OCP Global Summit 2026," 13 October 2026](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wiwynn-ayar-labs-and-guc-advance-co-packaged-optics-with-live-demonstration-of-integrated-optical-compute-system-at-ocp-global-summit-2026-302907032.html)
2. [Ayar Labs website, product description of SuperNova remote light source in ELSFP form factor, accessed 14 October 2026](https://ayarlabs.com/)
3. [Ben Bajarin, post on X on the Ayar Labs OCP demo, 14 October 2026](https://x.com/BenBajarin/status/2110119464209699031)
4. [Yahoo Finance, "Lumentum Shares Rise 3.8% as AI Data Centre Demand Exceeds Optical Component Capacity," 9 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/lumentum-shares-rise-3-8-104438159.html)
5. [Benzinga via MSN, "Lumentum stock rises after CEO says AI demand has the company sold out through early 2029," 9 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/lumentum-stock-rises-after-ceo-says-ai-demand-has-the-company-sold-out-through-early-2029/ar-AA2dTtep)
6. [Ticker Report, "AXT Signs Six-Year Lumentum InP Wafer Deal as AI Demand Surges," 6 October 2026](https://ticker.report/news/axti-axt-signs-six-year-lumentum-inp-wafer-deal-as-ai-demand-surges-2026-10-06)
7. [The Epoch Times, "China Export Curbs Delay AXT's US-Bound Indium Phosphide Shipments," 8 September 2026](https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/china-export-curbs-delay-axts-us-bound-indium-phosphide-shipments-6084439)
8. [@insane_analyst, post on X claiming Lumentum cut off Ayar Labs, 10 October 2026](https://x.com/insane_analyst/status/2109069278733619663)
9. [Reuters via Stockopedia, "Ayar Labs, backed by chip giants, extends funding round by $150 million," 10 September 2026](https://www.stockopedia.com/share-prices/wiwynn-TPE:6669/news/ayar-labs-backed-by-chip-giants-extends-funding-round-by-150-million-01a08afa-0fdb-70cd-bbac-09995c1135af/)
10. [PR Newswire, "Lightmatter Delivers Open Rack CPO Switch and XPU Scale-Up Server Through Independent Collaborations with Flex and Other Industry Partners," 12 October 2026](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightmatter-delivers-open-rack-cpo-switch-and-xpu-scale-up-server-through-independent-collaborations-with-flex-and-other-industry-partners-302906361.html)
11. [The Futurum Group, "Lightmatter and Flex Bring 204.8 Tbps Co-Packaged Optics Into Open Racks," 13 October 2026](https://futurumgroup.com/insights/lightmatter-and-flex-bring-2048-tbps-co-packaged-optics-into-open-racks/)
12. [Lumentum, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 14 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001633978)


---

Ayar Labs ran a live optical compute tray as Lumentum can't meet about 70% of demand for some lasers — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/ayar-labs-ran-a-live-optical-compute-tray-as-lumentum-can-t-meet-about-70-of-demand-for-some-lasers