OFC 2026 showcases the technology triangle for AI data centre: CPO, PCB, Liquid cooling Modules
As global computing power demand soars, the technology industry is undergoing a fundamental restructuring. CPO (Co-packaged Optics) breaks through the ceiling of optical transmission efficiency, PCB (Printed Circuit Board) serves as the "skeleton" of high-end manufacturing, and liquid cooling technology presses the "cooling button" for high-density data centers. These three major fields form the "iron triangle" of digital infrastructure - CPO addresses "fast transmission", PCB supports "stable hardware", and liquid cooling ensures "long-term operation". OFC 2026 showcases a blue print of this transformation, a group of core companies are evolving from "industry participants" to "rule makers".
CPO
Optical modules are the "data choke points" of data centers and communication networks, and CPO technology is sparking the industry's "second revolution". The traditional design of separating optical modules from switch chips leads to a surge in power consumption and high costs at high data rates. When data transmission rates move from 400G to 800G and 1.6T, the power consumption of traditional solutions can reach 15W per port. However, CPO, through the "co-packaging of optical engines and switch chips", directly cuts power consumption in half to below 7W, while reducing costs by 30%.
Compared to traditional optical module solutions, CPO offers significant advantages in bandwidth density, system energy efficiency, and signal integrity, making it particularly suitable for ultra-large-scale AI computing clusters. According to LightCounting data, the global optical module market will reach a value of USD 21 billion in 2025, with the proportion of CPO soaring from 5% in 2023 to 35% in 2026.
PCB
PCB is known as the "mother of electronic products" With the surge in demand for AI servers, high-end PCBs have become a surging component. The PCB value of an AI server is five times that of an ordinary server, and the global shipment of AI servers is expected to reach 1.5 million units in 2025, driving the high-end PCB market to exceed 80 billion yuan.
Liquid cooling
When the computing power density of data centers jumps from 5kW/cabinet to 30kW/cabinet, traditional air cooling becomes inadequate - the PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of air cooling reaches as high as 1.8 at a density of 30kW, while liquid cooling can be reduced to below 1.1, saving millions dollars in electricity costs annually for a 100,000-cabinet data center.
As we we observe, Accelink Technologies as a pioneer in this field, has deeply optimized the design of LPO and LRO modules, significantly reducing power consumption and facilitating the green development of data centers. On the OFC 2026, it will also simultaneously showcase the next-generation 1.6T LPO and LRO modules, continuously providing customers with high-performance, low-energy consumption upgrade solutions. Meanwhile, immersed liquid cooling technology offers cutting-edge thermal management solutions, fully demonstrating the application value of liquid-cooled optical modules and promoting the development of data centers towards a more efficient and sustainable direction.
CPO, PCB, and liquid cooling are not isolated tracks, instead, they form a closed loop of "computing power transmission - hardware support - heat dissipation guarantee". "PCB+liquid cooling integrated solution" customized for NVIDIA H100 servers has improved heat dissipation efficiency by 20%, and the revenue of related businesses will exceed 1.5 billion yuan by 2026; New technology has combined CPO technology with liquid cooling and heat dissipation to launch "liquid-cooled optical modules", which reduce power consumption by 40% compared to traditional products and have been verified by China Mobile.
Conclusion: Optico Group perspectives
Optico Group regards OFC 2026 as a milestone of revolution. Before this year CPO equipment has not yet been widely deployed, now we expect the technology of liquid-cooled optical modules can be maturely applied in the next year or two, it may become a more suitable alternative to CPO. Liquid cooling technology effectively reduces the temperature rise and energy consumption of equipment through liquid cooling, providing a more reliable cooling solution for high-density computing scenarios such as AI data centers.