supplierScore 85/100Watch
AOI securing substrate supply via partnerships with 2 EU, 2 Japan, 3 China suppliers through 2027; exploring joint ventures for 10x+ capacity growth.
Thompson Lin· Applied Optoelectronics· AI· 2026-08-06· about Applied Optoelectronics (AOI); substrate suppliers in Europe, Japan, China (AOEO)
“right now AI we just uh move into substrate in the manufacturer as I mentioned we already have two supplier in Europe, two supplier in uh Japan plus three supplier in China. So right now we are very aggressive uh to have some kind of partnership with uh to three supplier even maybe the possible I would say potential joint venture okay because as you can see uh how much this capacity a will will increase in the next few years it's let me say that is much much more than a factor of 10”
Why it matters
AOI is explicitly building diversified substrate supply chains and considering joint ventures to secure 10x+ capacity growth. This signals high confidence in multi-year demand and early mitigation of substrate bottlenecks that could constrain optical transceiver scaling.
Investment implication
Substrate suppliers (GaAs, InP, Silicon) in Europe and Asia will see aggressive capex spending and partnership deals from AOI. Investors should monitor which substrate companies secure AOI partnerships or joint ventures. Conversely, if AOI secures internal substrate capacity through JVs, it reduces dependency on third-party suppliers and improves margins.