GlobalFoundries Unveils SCALE Silicon Photonics Technology, Eyes Turnaround Through CPO and Physical AI

As the number of GPUs in AI server racks continues to grow, copper interconnects face bandwidth, power-consumption and scaling constraints. Co-packaged optics (CPO), which places optical components closer to computing chips, is consequently gaining attention. For GlobalFoundries, whose shares have long underperformed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index since its August 2022 investor day, silicon photonics and physical AI have become central to reviving growth.

GlobalFoundries unveiled SCALE on May 4, 2026, describing it as the industry’s first OCI MSA-compliant CPO platform. The company has demonstrated bidirectional DWDM with eight and 16 wavelengths and offers 50Gbps and 100Gbps microring modulators. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the stock the same day from Neutral to Overweight and set an $80 price target. The shares closed at $67.75, up 4.38%.