Mucahithan Avcioglu
06 May 2026•Update: 06 May 2026
US chip giant Nvidia and materials science company Corning announced a multiyear commercial and technology partnership on Wednesday to expand US manufacturing capacity for optical connectivity solutions used in next-generation artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Corning will increase its US optical connectivity manufacturing capacity tenfold and expand domestic fiber production capacity by more than 50%, the companies said in a joint statement.
The expansion plan includes the construction of three advanced manufacturing plants in North Carolina and Texas and the creation of more than 3,000 “high-paying” jobs in the US.
Corning’s expanded manufacturing capacity will support optical connectivity systems used by hyperscale data centers deploying Nvidia-accelerated computing infrastructure at scale.
The companies said modern AI workloads require thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units, increasing demand for high-performance optical fiber, connectivity and photonics technologies capable of moving data at high speed and scale.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said AI is driving “the largest infrastructure buildout of our time” and creating opportunities to strengthen US manufacturing and supply chains.
“Together with Corning, we are inventing the future of computing with advanced optical technologies — building the foundation for AI infrastructure where intelligence moves at the speed of light while advancing the proud tradition of Made in America,” Huang said.
Corning Chairman and CEO Wendell Weeks said Nvidia’s commitment is directly supporting the expansion of the company’s US manufacturing footprint.
“This partnership is proof that AI is not just a technology story. It is a manufacturing story, and it is happening here in the United States,” Weeks said.
Corning, known for its work in glass science, optical physics and low-loss optical fiber technology, said it is positioned to meet rising demand from AI infrastructure projects as optical connectivity becomes an increasingly important component of AI systems.