Tencent Cloud to Deploy Domestic Computing Power and NPO Super Nodes by Q4 2026
Tencent Cloud has announced plans to scale up the deployment of domestic computing power and launch Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) super nodes by the fourth quarter of 2026. The company also called for the unification of domestic and international NPO industry standards to optimize AI inference costs. As AI model scales grow, optical interconnects are crucial for overcoming bandwidth and power consumption bottlenecks. NPO offers a pragmatic, cost-effective transition path for domestic GPUs to build super nodes with minimal disruption to the existing supply chain. Unlike traditional pluggable modules, NPO places the photoelectric conversion chip directly on the same board as the computing chip, eliminating the expensive DSP chip. While Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) integrates these components into a single package for even lower latency, NPO is currently considered easier to commercialize.
## BACKGROUND
In high-performance computing and AI data centers, traditional copper interconnects struggle with high power consumption and limited bandwidth over distance. Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) are advanced packaging technologies designed to bring optical engines closer to the main processing chips (ASICs or GPUs) to improve efficiency.