Intel Unveils First Glass-Substrate CPO Prototype, Targets Commercial Launch by 2029

As computing demand in AI data centers continues to climb, inter-chip bandwidth and energy consumption have become bottlenecks. Intel is combining the high-density wiring of glass substrates with co-packaged optics, or CPO, to bring optical components closer to compute chips. It aims to deliver 10 times the interconnect density of conventional packaging while addressing warpage and yield issues associated with organic substrates.

Intel unveiled its first chip prototype combining a glass substrate with CPO at OFC 2026, targeting demand from AI infrastructure. The company plans to introduce the technology into commercial products as early as 2029 and by around 2030 at the latest. If mass production proceeds smoothly, glass substrates could gradually replace some conventional organic packaging, improving manufacturing yields and the scalability of large packages.