Conventional EDA is hitting a bottleneck when simulating silicon photonics. At OFC 2026, GF and Cadence presented photonic-native modeling built on waveguide scattering physics, delivering 2x faster simulation and paving the way for large-scale electro-photonic integration in the 1.6T era.

Silicon photonics interconnects are hitting an inflection point. At OFC 2026, GlobalFoundries showed how detachable connectors and 3D packaging tackle the 100+ fiber assembly challenge in AI inference, while building a complete US-based optical packaging ecosystem.

GF posted a strong Q1 with gross margin hitting a record 29%. Smartphones remain soft, but silicon photonics and automotive demand are surging, and management expects SiGe capacity to stay sold out through 2027. Here's how the foundry is transforming through its SCALE platform and IP acquisitions.

GF raised its full-year CID growth target from the high 30s to 50–60% and now expects silicon photonics revenue to more than double, while non-IFRS gross margin touched 30% a year ahead of plan. With incremental revenue dropping almost entirely to gross profit, the market has to reprice GF's content, not its capacity.

The CPO technology debate is over; the race is now about yield, test and delivery. With SCALE, GlobalFoundries turns the optical engine into a fully tested semiconductor part built to last a decade, targeting 20–30% of pluggable cost. The real variable isn't optics — it's interoperability standards that have yet to converge.

Detachable CPO optical connectors have never managed low loss, passive alignment, high-power handling and detachability all at once. At ECTC 2026, GlobalFoundries and Corning did it for the first time: <1.5 dB/facet, 280 mW, fully passive alignment — a one-two punch of foundry silicon photonics and glass connectors.

The first bottleneck in silicon photonics isn’t silicon’s inability to emit light — it’s whether designers can get a box of foundry-guaranteed building blocks that will actually yield. That box is the PDK. Why is it so much harder than an electronic PDK, and why is it the foundry’s quietest moat?