Corning Incorporated and NVIDIA announced a sweeping long-term partnership Wednesday aimed at dramatically expanding U.S.-based manufacturing tied to the booming artificial intelligence industry, including plans for three new manufacturing facilities and more than 3,000 new jobs.
The agreement will significantly increase production of the optical fiber and connectivity technology needed to support large-scale AI data centers powered by NVIDIA computing systems. Under the deal, Corning said it plans to increase its U.S. optical connectivity manufacturing capacity tenfold and boost domestic fiber production capacity by more than 50%.
The expansion will include construction of three advanced manufacturing plants in North Carolina and Texas as demand for AI infrastructure continues accelerating across the country.
Company officials said the partnership reflects the growing role American manufacturing is expected to play in supporting the next generation of artificial intelligence systems, which require massive amounts of high-speed data movement between thousands of graphics processing units, or GPUs.
“AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout of our time — and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American manufacturing and supply chains,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.
Corning Chairman and CEO Wendell P. Weeks said the partnership will directly expand the company’s domestic manufacturing footprint while creating thousands of “high-paying jobs for American workers.”
Corning, headquartered in Corning, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of optical fiber and specialty glass products. The company said its technology will help support hyperscale AI data centers deploying NVIDIA-accelerated computing systems.
The announcement comes as major technology firms and manufacturers race to expand infrastructure needed to support increasingly complex AI applications, fueling demand for semiconductors, data centers, energy generation and fiber-optic connectivity.
Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the partnership.
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