A glass company’s optical fiber bet is winning thanks to AI boom

US-based glass manufacturer Corning’s stock is hovering near an all-time high due to a gamble it made nearly 20 years ago: making fiber-optic cables, which are now the cornerstone of AI data centers.

Fiber cables are thin, durable, and transmit data much more efficiently than traditional copper wires. As the AI boom accelerates, demand for this hardware has surged, and Corning is ready. 

The company recently signed a $6 billion deal to supply Meta’s data centers.

The 175-year-old company is famous for making Thomas Edison’s glass bulbs and Pyrex cookware. It found that revenue was shrinking and decided to diversify its portfolio by investing in fiber optics.

Unlike many competitors, Corning maintains roughly half of its manufacturing in the US and prides itself on a self-contained model, designing its own machinery to make the optical fibers.

Despite enduring six consecutive quarters of shrinking revenue during the pandemic, Corning avoided mass layoffs and factory shrinkage by offering some employees stock options.

Its long-term strategy has positioned the glass maker as the primary supplier. Looking ahead, Corning is collaborating with Nvidia to integrate fiber optics directly into servers.