✨OVC Expo unveiled world-first innovations across AI interconnection, infrared sensing, lasers, optical communication, and fiber sensing. The debut "light + AI" zone showcased OVC's latest breakthroughs in sensing, transmission, storage, and computing.

Started a small position in $CIEN today. Grid interconnection queues are 3-5 years, no utility can deliver 1GW contiguous in one place, and frontier training runs cannot wait. So OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI and Meta are all moving to the same playbook: secure 1-3MW pockets where power is available, deploy fast, then expand to 200-500MW slices across 5-10 campuses in a metro or region and train one model across them, exactly what $CIEN sells as scale-across: making geographically separated GPU clusters behave like a single logical supercomputer. That shift makes interconnect count grow exponentially, not linearly, 10 sites means 45 high-capacity links, each needing tens of Pb/s day-one with deterministic low latency, or training efficiency collapses. It also flips the network from best-effort DCI to part of the training fabric. $CIEN is the only Western vendor with the full stack for that.

AI traffic is "more in volume, more complicated," and needs far more interconnections than traditional networks. Dhrupad Trivedi, President & CEO of @A10Networks, tells @JD_Durkin their 20 years of experience is "extremely relevant to AI," from monitoring usage to building in guardrails.

Compute infra feels a lot like the early crypto days. From bare metal to hardware financing, data center construction, chips, cooling, power procurement, grid interconnection, and state by state energy permitting. Then networking, Gpu/tpu utilization, workload scheduling, and inference optimization. And finally compute markets via onchain, trading infra, financing, pricing oracles, and verification that the compute you bought actually gets delivered. Hair on fire problems in almost every part of the stack. Pretty exciting times.

Evercore ISI Initiates Coverage on $LITE with Outperform Rating, PT $1,100 Analyst comments: "As AI accelerator deployments continue to inflect higher (20%+ CAGR), their utilization is severely limited by connectivity. Optical interconnections are increasingly critical bottlenecks, and the laser content required is concentrated in indium phosphide (InP), a material that is specialized, capital-intensive, and in short supply. We think LITE’s diversity of growth means not all things need to go right for the stock to work. Key thesis points: 1. Sizable TAM Ahead: Management has framed the optical AI TAM growing from ~$18B today to >$90B by 2030, a ~40% CAGR, spanning transceivers, OCS, CPO, and coherent components, with LITE participating across the board. 2. Upside to FY28 EPS: We model $35 of FY28 EPS (~60% CAGR) but see a path toward $45-$50 EPS in FY28. Over the medium term, we see potential for $60-$70 EPS as revenue scales, margins expand, and mix shifts toward higher-value products. 3. Scale Up/Out/Across: Optical content per unit of compute is rising across scale-up (within the rack), scale-out (across clusters), and scale-across (between data centers), giving LITE multiple avenues to grow that are not tied to any single product cycle or customer. In addition, OCS sets up a fixed, point-to-point optical path using MEMS mirrors, where LITE has a 20-year history with this technology. We see demand continuing, with LITE outlining >150% unit CAGR from CY25-CY28 at OFC. 4. Demand Outpacing Supply: InP optical lane demand is set to grow ~85% on a compound basis through 2030, yet LITE is undershipping by more than 30% even after lifting EML output 8x since FY23, which shifts pricing power and margin upstream to scaled, vertically integrated suppliers. 5. Margin Expansion: LITE is a unique asset where we see gross margins expanding substantially over the next few years. Our model pegs gross margins going from 46% in FY26 to 54% by FY28. Notably, deployments like CPO and NPO will contribute 60% gross margins to the model." Analyst: Amit Daryanani

"Permission is scarcer than power." At #WDMS2026#, Eli Nagar, CEO of Braiins, lays out the mining playbook: secure the interconnection, use hydro at the efficiency frontier, build modular, automate flexibility. With hashrate down 21% since October 2025, those who stay are building smarter. #BitcoinMining# #HydroMining# #WDMS2026#

📈 #OVCEnterprise# #HGTECH# reports over ¥7.8b ($1.1b) in H1 #revenue#, with overseas share topping 20%! The firm's profit growth outpaced revenue, driven by AI optical modules. Its 3 core businesses are optical interconnection, smart sensing & intelligent manufacturing. #OVCBiz#

Synergy sees neocloud revenue reaching ~$400B by 2031 at a 58% CAGR as cloud providers move beyond GPU rental into software and owned infrastructure. Thats why $NBIS, $IREN and $CRWV have such a massive opportunity right now as more utility-driven AI applications like $META Muse create recurring inference demand that has to land somewhere. The biggest catch is that ~$400B of revenue implies ~18GW of capacity which means power and interconnection could become real limit on how fast this market scales.

Thanks to our partners for making this possible! IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud platform, delivering data centers, compute and software for AI training and inference. Oracle connects the data, applications, and infrastructure that turn AI into business outcomes—with the flexibility, choice, and control to optimize as AI evolves. EY helps tech innovators scale from startup to exit to megacap. You build the future. We’ll handle the rest. Meta believes the future is for everyone. We're focused on giving every person the tools to reach their full potential and making sure the benefits of technology are distributed to all. Keel Infrastructure owns the power, land, and connectivity that HPC and AI run on - backed by secured energy assets and established grid interconnections across North America. Airwallex - Agentic Global Business Accounts. Open local accounts in 70+ countries to accept payments, earn yield, pay globally, and manage spend. PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit Google for Startups connects founders with the right people, products, and best practices to help startups build faster and go further. Explore ideas, industries, and technologies worth understanding with Chamath every week on Learn with Me:

ROTHSCHILD REDBURN LAUNCHES COVERAGE ACROSS AI DATA CENTER NAMES $NBIS: SELL, $84 PT Says Nebius has a demanding valuation and questions the sustainability of its unit economics. Upside could come from newer-generation GPUs, faster growth of its Token Factory inference business and stronger capacity execution. Risks include customers bringing compute in-house and higher funding costs. $CRWV: SELL, $54 PT Redburn questions CoreWeave's unit economics and ability to convert its pipeline into attractive returns. Key risks include hyperscalers or AI labs bringing capacity in-house, falling GPU pricing and higher financing costs. $DLR: BUY, $227 PT Highlights Digital Realty's global wholesale and colocation footprint, long-term tenant contracts and expansion into larger, higher-density facilities built for AI workloads and hyperscale customers. $EQIX: BUY, $1,261 PT Points to Equinix's global interconnection ecosystem as a key advantage, with AI, HPC, enterprise and cloud customers increasingly needing high-density compute close to networks and other infrastructure. $IRM: BUY, $132 PT Iron Mountain has expanded beyond its legacy records-storage business into data centers, information management and IT asset lifecycle services, while developing more power-dense capacity for AI workloads. The miner-to-AI names were treated much more cautiously: $APLD: NEUTRAL, $22 PT Says unit economics and pipeline-conversion risks are already well priced in. Upside comes from lower build/operating costs and additional large tenant signings. Risks include local opposition, construction delays and tenant insolvency. $IREN: NEUTRAL, $40 PT Sees upside from additional large-scale AI tenants and better execution at existing sites. Risks include difficulty securing tenants, higher funding costs and delays or cancellations. $WULF: NEUTRAL, $15 PT Potential upside comes from securing additional U.S. capacity and signing more major tenants. Permitting issues and state-level opposition are key risks. $CIFR: NEUTRAL, $18 PT Sees better or faster grid-capacity allocation and more major tenant deals as upside. Tenant pullouts and buildout delays are the main downside risks. $HUT: NEUTRAL, $96 PT Upside depends on faster data-center execution and securing additional grid capacity. Delays or cancellations in the buildout remain the key risk. $CORZ: NEUTRAL, $16 PT Core Scientific has been shifting capacity from Bitcoin mining toward AI/HPC hosting after emerging from bankruptcy, while continuing its mining business. Its proposed acquisition by CoreWeave collapsed last year after shareholders rejected the deal.