STMicroelectronics plans Crolles fab expansion by 2026 as AI optics demand rises
Europe's semiconductor giant is betting big on silicon photonics, with production capacity set to quadruple as hyperscalers race to wire AI data centers with light.
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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 2, 2026STMicroelectronics is preparing to make a pivotal call on whether to expand its flagship 300 mm wafer fabrication plant in Crolles, France, with CEO Jean-Marc Chery indicating the decision will come by the end of 2026. The driving force: surging demand for silicon photonics chips that use light instead of electricity to shuttle data inside AI data centers.
The company kicked off high-volume production of its PIC100 silicon photonics platform on March 9, 2026, and has its sights set on more than quadrupling production capacity by 2027. For a chipmaker that has historically been known for automotive and industrial semiconductors, this is a sharp strategic pivot toward the infrastructure layer powering artificial intelligence.
Why silicon photonics matters for AI
STMicro’s PIC100 platform targets data rates of 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps for optical interconnects. The technology also emphasizes power efficiency, which is becoming a non-negotiable requirement as data centers face growing scrutiny over their electricity consumption.
AdvertisementThe AWS partnership and competitive positioning
STMicroelectronics has locked in a multi-year commercial partnership with Amazon Web Services, one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure providers. Securing a hyperscaler of AWS’s scale as a committed customer provides STMicro with the kind of demand visibility that justifies billion-dollar fab investments.
The company is also embedded in Europe’s strategic semiconductor ambitions through the STARLight consortium, an EU-backed initiative focused on advancing 300 mm silicon photonics technology.
Chery has indicated that the current Crolles infrastructure can support silicon photonics operations through 2026 and 2027, which means the expansion decision is less about immediate capacity constraints and more about positioning for 2028 and beyond. The company plans to bring additional capacity online in 2028.
What this means for investors and the semiconductor landscape
The competitive landscape is worth watching closely. Intel has its own silicon photonics efforts, GlobalFoundries has invested in photonics process development, and a crop of startups like Ayar Labs are pursuing chiplet-based optical I/O. STMicro’s advantage lies in having a production-ready 300 mm platform with a confirmed hyperscaler customer.
The quadrupling of PIC100 capacity by 2027 is a response to contracted demand from customers who are already building the next generation of AI data centers.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
