Corning, thanks to its expertise in glass science, is driving the AI ​​era

As Corning celebrates its 175th year, the GlassWorks AI name evokes Corning’s notable history as well as its future: Just as Corning Glass Works revolutionized the world by providing the glass for Edison’s light bulb, Corning now leverages its unmatched global expertise in glass science to drive the AI era forward.

Corning GlassWorks AI Solutions are a portfolio of products and services to support the needs of AI network operators for density, scale and speed of deployment. It includes Corning’s industry-leading fiber, cable and connectivity solutions, along with best-in-class network planning, design and deployment services.

GlassWorks AI was launched in March 2025 and we have continued to add to the portfolio ever since. Among its offerings is Corning’s Contour Flow Cable, which accelerates and simplifies deployments of interconnected data center networks by fitting double the fiber into existing cable diameters. We announced a number of new GlassWorks AI innovations in March 2026 at the OFC Conference in Los Angeles.

Among them are:

– Corning Multicore Fiber Solution: an integrated fiber, cable, and connectivity offering that packs multiple cores into a single fiber strand. This solution delivers a step change in AI-focused network density by offering four times the capacity per fiber within the standard 125-micron cladding footprint. Such dense capacity per fiber simplifies data center installations by requiring up to 75% fewer connectors, reducing cable mass by up to 70% and helping cut installation time by up to 60%. 

– Corning Contour Flow micro cable: a high-density micro cable that drastically reduces cable diameter to maximize duct space and enables improved air jetting for faster deployment.

– A new 32-fiber MMC connector option that builds on Corning’s existing MMC offerings in 12-, 16-, and 24-fiber configurations. The new 32-fiber solution further enhances fiber density and scalability for space constrained, high performance network environments.

– MMC connector with PRIZM TMT ferrule: This expanded-beam ferrule technology integrated into an MMC connector platform allows precision‑aligned microlenses to transmit optical signals through a contactless connection rather than direct fiber‑to‑fiber contact. This approach enables high‑volume scalability and less sensitivity to debris during mating, traits that can lead to faster and more efficient deployments with a lower risk of human error, while reducing total cost of ownership.

– Co‑packaged optics (CPO) technology: a form of connectivity that brings fiber to the chip, enabling faster data transmission, higher bandwidth density, and improved energy efficiency. At the OFC Conference, Corning highlighted an end-to-end CPO system, which includes detachable fiber array unit-based fiber‑to‑chip connectors, bend‑resilient fibers optimized for short‑length CPO applications, and pre‑assembled trays that simplify installation and enable scalable deployment. 

Corning stands out

Corning is the only large-scale end-to-end provider of passive optical solutions. Our innovations span every edge of the network — from the silicon to the data center, underneath the ocean and all the way to the fiber connection to your home. Customers benefit from our vertical integration across fiber, cable and connectivity. GlassWorks AI includes innovations in all three.

Another critical factor in our market leadership is our deep, trust-based customer relationships. Because of our relationships with the largest hyperscale data center operators, Corning understood, long before Gen AI was on many people’s radar, that AI would require far more density in the fiber network. So we reinvented everything, starting with a 40% smaller fiber – which in turn paved the way for denser cable and connectors.

This breakthrough fiber,  Corning SMF-28 Contour fiber is a 40% smaller fiber that offers improved bend resilience for high-density environments. With its smaller diameter, SMF-28 Contour fiber is the key enabler of the cable and other connectivity solutions in Corning’s GlassWorks AI portfolio – all designed to help operators meet the ever-increasing density requirements of AI. 

 As evidence of our success, just look at the customer collaborations we’ve announced in the last year alone:

· Our multi-year, up to $6 billion agreement with Meta to supply fiber, cable and connectivity for Meta’s advanced AI data centers in the U.S. 

· Our strategic manufacturing collaboration with Microsoft, to accelerate the production of Microsoft’s Hollow Core Fiber (HCF). Corning’s fiber and cable manufacturing facilities in North Carolina will produce Microsoft’s HCF, enabling Microsoft to expand its global fiber production and deployment across its network.

· Our collaborations across the co-packaged optics ecosystem – the collaboration with NVIDIA on CPO network switches announced in March 2025, the collaboration with Broadcom on optical components for its next-gen AI systems announced in May, and the collaboration with Global Foundries announced in September to develop detachable fiber connector solutions for its silicon photonics platform. 

· The extension of our collaboration with Lumen through 2029, to provide fiber and cable solutions that allow Lumen to fit more fiber into their conduit – reusing existing infrastructure. 

And those are just a small part of the customer collaborations that fueled our success in 2025. It all adds up to a banner year for Optical Communications, with 2025 sales up 35%.