AI data-center optics exposed an indium-phosphide supply-chain choke point.
MarketWatch reported that optical-networking suppliers such as Lumentum and Coherent are exposed to China-controlled indium-phosphide wafer supply. AXT's SEC filing said China added indium phosphide substrates to its export-control list and that permits are required for exports from China. Lumentum had already announced a North Carolina facility to produce InP-based optical devices for major AI data centers.
Verified 12:30 AM PDT · 3 original sources
The AI infrastructure story is often told as GPUs plus power. The optical layer matters too: fast data-center links need lasers, and those lasers can depend on specialized compound-semiconductor wafers with a much narrower supplier base.
AXT permit timing, Lumentum's Greensboro ramp, Coherent capacity disclosures, U.S. treatment of Chinese optical transceivers, and whether hyperscalers double order components because they fear material shortages.
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