Although the DeepSeek model reduces the cost of AI training, the cost reduction of AI models is expected to expand the application scenarios and thereby increase the global data center construction volume. The optical transceiver module, as a key component for data center interconnection, will benefit from the demand for high-speed data transmission. In the future, data transmission between AI servers will require a large number of high-speed optical transceiver modules. These modules are responsible for converting electrical signals into optical signals and transmitting them through optical fibers, and then converting the received optical signals back into electrical signals. According to statistics from global market research institution TrendForce, the global shipment of optical transceiver modules with a speed of 400 Gbps or above was 6.4 million in 2023, approximately 20.4 million in 2024, and is expected to exceed 31.9 million in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 56.5%. 

TrendForce   pointed out that DeepSeek, along with CSP (Cloud Service Provider) and AI software companies, will jointly promote the popularization of AI applications. In particular， a large amount of data will be generated at the edge in the future， meaning that a large number of micro data centers need to be deployed in fields such as factories and wireless base stations. Through the intensive deployment of optical transceiver modules， it is expected that the number of optical communication nodes in each factory will increase by 3-5 times compared to the traditional architecture. Compared to traditional electrical signal transmission， optical communication has higher bandwidth， lower latency， and lower signal attenuation， which can meet the strict requirements of AI servers for high-performance data transmission. This makes optical communication technology an indispensable key link for AI servers， and the demand for 800Gbps and 1.6Tbps optical transceiver modules for AI servers continues to drive growth. Traditional servers have also driven the demand for 400Gbps optical transceiver modules with the upgrade of specifications. 

The optical transceiver module is composed of the following key components: laser diode, modulator, photo detector, etc. Among them, the laser diode is responsible for generating optical signals, the modulator is responsible for converting electrical signals into optical signals, and the photo detector is responsible for converting the received optical signals into electrical signals. 

In the supply chain of laser light sources, due to the modulation function of EML lasers, the production technology is difficult, and considering the current high-speed transmission requirements, a single channel needs to achieve an optical transmission speed of 100 Gbps, and some specifications even reach 200 Gbps. Therefore, the entry threshold is relatively high. Currently, the major suppliers are mostly concentrated in large companies in the United States and Japan, such as Broadcom, Coherent, Lumentum, etc. There are few cases of outsourcing production. 

As for the CW (continuous wave) lasers in silicon photonic modules, since the functions such as optical modulation and splitting of the laser have been integrated into the silicon photonics (SiPh) process, only the light source needs to be provided. As a result, some manufacturers have entered the contract manufacturing supply chain of CW lasers. For instance, Lianya provides CW lasers for international data center giants, while Huaxingguang and Huanxing combine the laser chip manufacturing process for contract manufacturing. 

In the supply chain of optical sensors, currently the major suppliers are mostly concentrated in the hands of large companies in the US and Japan that have existing laser light sources, such as Broadcom, Coherent, Lumentum, Hamamatsu, etc. However, as the transmission speed of optical modules increases to around 200 Gbps, the challenges for optical sensors have also become increasingly high. Since the quality of optical sensors depends on the sensitivity of receiving light, uneven doping uniformity or structural defects of the epitaxial materials will all affect the receiving light effect. For 200Gbps per lane PD (photodiode) optical sensors, apart from being fully self-produced by Broadcom, the epitaxial of Coherent's 100Gbps and those of major companies like Lumentum and Hamamatsu for 200Gbps PD are all outsourced to the American company IET for manufacturing.