AI Hardware Interconnects: Optical Modules vs. PCBs – Long-Term Investment Insights

Optical modules lead AI hardware interconnect growth with a global 16% CAGR, reaching ~700B RMB in China (2025) [1]. For PCBs, edge AI segments exhibit exceptional historical growth (62.5% CAGR, 2019-2024) [2], while data center PCBs grow at a moderate 10.9% CAGR (2024-2029) [3].

PCBs face inherent physical bottlenecks: high-frequency signals suffer severe loss and crosstalk [9]. Optical modules address this via silicon photonics (30% market share in 2025 →60% by 2030) [5] and CPO (co-packaged optics, integrating near GPU) [7].

Optical modules account for 9-14% of AI server BOM (second only to GPU) [4]. 2026 demand projections:40M 800G modules and7M+1.6T modules [8].

Short-term: Edge AI PCBs (e.g.,东山精密 [2]) offer strong growth. Long-term: Optical modules (e.g.,中际旭创 SZ300308) benefit from “光进铜退” trends [3].