An Investor Says One Data Center Holds Enough Fiber to Circle the Earth Four and a Half Times
Alex says fiber is Corning's fastest-growing, higher-margin business, with the market inside the rack possibly next.
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy · Why the AI Boom Is Just Getting StartedInvestor Alex, who runs Whale Rock Capital, says he read that a new Microsoft data center holds "enough fiber to circle the world four and a half times."
Fiber means hair-thin strands of glass that carry data as light. Alex says Corning, which makes much of it, can tailor those strands to precise needs so they are thinner and easier to bend. He says fiber is now Corning's fastest-growing part of the business, and a higher-margin one.
That growth comes from two jobs already in use: linking rows of server racks, and linking whole data centers when one site cannot get enough power for training, which needs much thicker wire.
The next market, he says, sits inside the rack, where each processor connects to the others. Those short links still run over copper. Alex estimates that switching them to fiber would double or triple Corning's opportunity.
Questions people ask
What is a data center?
A data center is a giant warehouse packed with computers that store data and run software. An AI data center holds tens of thousands of powerful servers that train and run AI models, and it uses far more power and connections than a normal one.
What does training an AI model involve?
Training an AI model means adjusting billions of settings until it gives useful answers, using thousands of processors working together for weeks. The processors must exchange huge amounts of data, which is why they need so many fast links and so much electricity.
What kind of company is Corning?
Corning is a 170-year-old American maker of glass and related materials, known for window glass, television tubes, and smartphone screens. In recent years a growing share of its business has come from glass fiber for communications networks and data centers.