Coherent vs. Lumentum
Nvidia has recently put large investments into two major photonic companies. Both Coherent and Lumentum are at the heart of the AI infrastructure boom, but they have distinctly different strengths. The simplest way to understand the difference is that Coherent offers massive scale and a diversified, vertically integrated portfolio, while Lumentum is an agile leader in high speed laser technology with a sharp focus on next generation architectures .
Coherent (COHR)
A diversified photonics powerhouse with massive scale.
Dual pronged: A top tier Datacom/Comm business plus a large Industrial lasers business.
~2x larger in optical networking than Lumentum's entire company.
High Speed Lasers (EMLs). Strong player with significant capacity.
Silicon Photonics (SiPh) Pioneer and Leader. Heavily invested in SiPh as a cost effective, high volume alternative to traditional lasers, with partnerships like Nvidia.
Industrial & Scientific Lasers Major Strength. A multi billion dollar business with a vast portfolio for manufacturing, scientific research, and medical applications (e.g. ultrafast Ti.Sapphire lasers, high power diode lasers).
Advanced Materials. Unique offerings like bondable diamond substrates for GPU cooling, showing deep materials science expertise.
Manufacturing and Capacity. Highly Vertically Integrated. Owns and controls a large part of its supply chain.
InP (Indium Phosphide) Capacity. Aggressive Expander. Pioneered the transition to 6 inch InP wafers (vs. industry standard 3 inch), which can halve costs and boost output. Expanding facilities in Texas and Sweden.
Role in Nvidia's Ecosystem. A key partner for silicon photonics and high volume transceiver supply. Nvidia's $2B investment helps Coherent expand InP capacity for long term supply (2027 2030).
Excels in the 'core market' of today's optics. Strong in rack level fibre connectivity.
Lumentum (LITE)
A high speed laser specialist and agile innovator.
Highly Focused. Predominantly a pure play on cloud and communications optics.
Smaller, but with a faster growth rate in recent quarters.
Differentiated Leader. Known for best in class 100G/lane and 200G/lane High Speed Lasers(EMLs), which are critical for 800G and 1.6T modules. Demand often exceeds their supply.
More focused on traditional InP laser technology, though actively involved in CPO architectures.
Industrial & Scientific Lasers. Has this segment, but it is much smaller (around 12% of revenue). Focus is on precision manufacturing tools like the PicoBlade® UV platform.
Asset Light / Partnership Model. Relies on partners like Fabrinet for high volume manufacturing, allowing for agility.
InP (Indium Phosphide) Capacity. Expanding, But Smaller Scale. Primarily expanding its existing fab in San Jose. Nvidia's investment is earmarked for a brand new U.S. fab to significantly boost capacity.
A key supplier for high speed CW and EML laser chips used in both pluggables and CPO. Nvidia's investment supports a brand new U.S. fab for future laser supply.
Viewed as having broader and more proactive exposure to 'new architecture' directions like CPO. Has announced major CPO related laser orders.