2025 Showcase

OCP Global Summit Showcase

The Open Compute Project held its annual OCP Global Summit at the San Jose Convention Center from October 13th to 16th, 2025. With all the AI buzz, this year's theme was, unsurprisingly, “Leading the Future of AI.” The OCP community are now central to enabling a standards-based rapid AI data center buildout.

NextGenInfra was on site to capture highlights from speakers, vendors, and community leaders. We appreciate our multi-year partnership with OCP and thank them for letting us capture video. Check out the videos on hot networking, optical, cooling, data center technologies!

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Analysis by AvidThink

What we learned at the 2025 OCP Global Summit

Twenty interviews in San Jose show the open hardware community racing to keep AI buildouts open, cool, and connected.

  1. Scale-up is the new battleground — and Ethernet wants it

    DriveNets argues scheduled-fabric Ethernet now beats InfiniBand and is moving into the scale-up domain, d-Matrix's roadmap adds EON (the Ethernet scale-up network), and UALink promises near-line-rate efficiency with first devices in 2026. 650 Group sizes the prize: 448G demos delivering 10x the bandwidth of scale-out domains.

  2. Ultra Ethernet gets real

    HPE demonstrated a live Ultra Ethernet Consortium implementation with switches handling UET and RoCE v2 simultaneously, using packet trimming for congestion management. VIAVI is already testing early UEC specs and 800-gig NICs, and Cornelis ships UEC-style credit-based flow control and adaptive routing at 400G today.

  3. The rack goes photonic

    Marvell's liquid-cooled CPO reference platform packs 16 silicon-photonics light engines — and scaling it means managing 36,000+ fibers per rack. Lumentum pairs optical circuit switches with external lasers for CPO, Ciena claims the first single-carrier 1.6 Tb/s coherent solution, and Oriole Networks argues AI networks should eliminate electronic packet switching entirely.

  4. Thermals and ROI discipline the buildout

    Iceotope's dielectric-fluid cooling captures 100% of thermal load from 1 MW racks and 8 kW chips, freeing power for compute. Cornelis attacks weak AI infrastructure ROI across compute cycles, power, and space; Multilane ties interconnect lifecycle testing directly to faster GPU revenue.

  5. Open rack-scale systems go turnkey

    Broadcom builds rack-scale AI architectures with Celestica and ESON partners, Arrcus and Quanta ship Tomahawk 5-based AI-ready racks, and d-Matrix's SquadRack follows OCP Open Rack V3 with Arista, Super Micro, and Broadcom. Hedgehog extends the open stack to neoclouds — run AI networks with cloud ops teams, not specialized network engineers.

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Highlights from industry thought leaders

Video interviews

650 Group

Scale Out, Scale Up

  • GPU and XPU connectivity is driving 10x to 100x more network bandwidth than historically seen.
  • New certifications cited at 24 gigs equating to 1.6T for switches and transceivers.
  • 448 gig demos target both scale-out and scale-up, delivering 10x the bandwidth of scale-out domains.
Abstract
Alan Weckel, Founder and Technology Analyst at 650 Group, discusses the significant bandwidth increases observed at OCP 2025, where networks are experiencing 10x to 100x more bandwidth than historically seen due to GPU and XPU connectivity requirements. He highlights new certifications including 24 gigs equating to 1.6T for switches and transceivers, along with demonstrations of 448 gigs technology for both scale-out and new scale-up applications that deliver 10x the bandwidth of scale-out domains.
Arrcus

Smarter Fabrics for AI

  • Arrcus ACE AI fabric delivers congestion-free, lossless Ethernet spanning training to edge inferencing.
  • New collaboration with Quanta Cloud Technologies enables Tomahawk 5 switches for AI-ready racks.
  • Turnkey rack offerings aim to cut deployment friction for AI at scale.
Abstract
Sanjay Kumar, VP of Products and Marketing at Arrcus, presents the company's ACE AI distributed networking fabric that provides congestion-free, lossless Ethernet connectivity for AI workloads spanning from data center training to edge inferencing. Kumar announces a collaboration with Quanta Cloud Technologies to enable their Tomahawk 5 switches for AI-ready rack solutions, creating turnkey offerings that reduce deployment friction for customers implementing AI at scale.
Broadcom

Broadcom's Rack-Scale Innovations for AI

  • Broadcom builds next-gen AI networks via rack-scale architectures with Celestica and ESON partnerships.
  • Optical innovations give hyperscalers confidence in both innovation velocity and supply reliability.
  • Mehta frames OCP as the forum uniting community partners amid explosive AI demand.
Abstract
Manish Mehta, VP Marketing, Optical Systems Division at Broadcom, discusses the explosive demand for AI innovation and the need for collaborative forums like OCP to unite community partners at the Open Compute Summit in San Jose. He highlights Broadcom's contributions to next-generation AI networks through rack scale architectures with Celestica, ESON partnerships, and optical innovations that provide hyperscalers with confidence in innovation velocity and supply reliability.
CESQ

Building Europe's Quantum Hub: CESQ's Vision for Hybrid Computing Future

  • CESQ is building a quantum hub in France's Grand Est with partners across France, Germany, and Switzerland.
  • Focus is combining HPC with quantum applications for hybrid computing.
  • CESQ seeks collaboration with OCP's quantum and hybrid working group and is hosting a quantum week event in France.
Abstract
Lesya Dymyd, Business Development Lead at CESQ, discusses the company's work on creating a quantum hub in France's Grand Est region with partners across France, Germany, and Switzerland to become a center of excellence for quantum and hybrid computing. She highlights CESQ's focus on combining high-performance computing with quantum applications and announces their upcoming quantum week event in France, while expressing interest in collaborating with the Open Compute Project's quantum and hybrid working group.
Ciena

Connecting the AI Data Center Fabric

  • Ciena touts an industry-first single-carrier 1.6 Tb/s coherent solution.
  • Ultra-low-power metro DCI uses 400 gig coherent pluggables.
  • The Nubis Communications acquisition adds linear redrivers for active copper cables and XT optical engines for co-packaged optics.
Abstract
Helen Xenos, Senior Director, Portfolio Marketing at Ciena, presents the company's comprehensive AI infrastructure solutions at OCP, including their industry-first single carrier 1.6 terabit per second coherent solution and ultra-low power metro DCI with 400 gig coherent pluggables. She also discusses Ciena's recent acquisition of Nubis Communications, which enables linear redrivers for active copper cables and XT optical engines for co-packaged optics applications.
Cornelis Networks

How to Maximize GPU ROI in AI Infrastructure Buildouts

  • Cornelis targets weak AI infrastructure ROI across compute cycles, power efficiency, and space utilization.
  • Its technology increases GPU utilization to improve the economic model.
  • Current 400 gig tech already offers Ultra Ethernet features like credit-based flow control and adaptive routing.
Abstract
Lisa Spelman, CEO of Cornelis Networks, discusses how companies struggle to extract sufficient value from their AI infrastructure investments, particularly regarding compute cycles, power efficiency, and data center space utilization to make their economic models viable. She explains that Cornelis Networks addresses these economic challenges by developing technology that increases GPU utilization and delivers enhanced performance, with their current 400 gig technology already providing ultraethernet compliance features like credit-based flow controls and adaptive routing.
d-Matrix

OCP-Compliant AI Inference at Rack Scale

  • d-Matrix showcases a rack-scale AI inference accelerator using ODSA, Bunch of Wires, and block floating-point numerics.
  • New SquadRack product, built with Arista, Super Micro, and Broadcom, follows OCP Open Rack Spec V3.
  • Roadmap adds support for EON, the Ethernet scale-up network.
Abstract
Max Sbabo, Senior Staff Engineer at d-Matrix, presents the company's rack scale AI inference accelerator at the OCP Summit, highlighting their collaboration with OCP through ODSA workgroups, Bunch of Wires standard implementation, and pioneering block floating-point numerics. He announces d-Matrix's SquadRack product developed with Arista, Super Micro, and Broadcom following OCP's Open Rack Specification V3 standards, along with support for the new EON (Ethernet scaleup network) on their roadmap.
DriveNets

Why High-Performance Networks Choose Ethernet Now

  • DriveNets argues high-performance Ethernet now surpasses InfiniBand via scheduled fabric.
  • Ethernet is moving into the demanding scale-up domain with better low latency and predictability.
  • The pitch: Ethernet is winning leadership across all AI networking use cases.
Abstract
Dudy Cohen, VP, Product Marketing at DriveNets, discusses Ethernet's growing dominance across all networking use cases at the OCP Global Summit, explaining how modern high-performance Ethernet solutions now surpass InfiniBand performance through technologies like scheduled fabric. He emphasizes that Ethernet is successfully pursuing leadership in the demanding scale-up domain with its improved low latency and predictability capabilities, making this an exciting time for AI infrastructure networking.
Hedgehog

NeoCloud Networking, Simplified

  • Hedgehog targets the emerging Neocloud market with an AI network software solution.
  • Customers include Neoclouds like FarmGPU and enterprises like Zipline.
  • The value: run high-performance AI networks with cloud ops teams instead of specialized network engineers.
Abstract
Marc Austin, CEO of Hedgehog, discusses the emerging Neocloud working group at OCP Global Summit and explains how his company addresses critical infrastructure needs for this growing market that requires high-performance AI infrastructure at competitive prices. Austin highlights Hedgehog's AI network software solution that enables Neoclouds like FarmGPU and enterprise customers like Zipline to operate high-performance AI networks with minimal operational expenses using cloud operations teams rather than specialized network engineers.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HPE Demos Ultra Ethernet Transport & RoCE v2

  • HPE demoed a live Ultra Ethernet Consortium spec implementation at the OCP Innovation Village.
  • QFX 50240 switches handle Ultra Ethernet Transport and RoCE v2 traffic simultaneously.
  • A packet trimming feature is used for congestion management.
Abstract
Mahesh Subramaniam, Sr. Director of Product Management at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, demonstrates the Ultra Ethernet Consortium specification implementation at the OCP Innovation Village, showcasing advanced networking technologies for AI data centers. The demonstration features Hewlett Packard Enterprise's QFX 50240 switches handling both Ultra Ethernet Transport and RoCE v2 traffic simultaneously, along with an advanced packet trimming feature for congestion management.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Transforming Data Center for AI with HPE

  • HPE positions AI-native networking built from the ground up for AI operational challenges.
  • Innovations include liquid-cooled switches and Ultra Ethernet solutions with packet trimming.
  • Solutions support OCP-specified OB3 racks, underscoring an open networking commitment.
Abstract
Amit Sanyal, Senior Director, Data Center Product Marketing at HPE, presents the company's AI native networking solutions at OCP, which are designed from the ground up to solve operational challenges and optimize networking performance for AI applications. HPE showcases key innovations including liquid cooled switches, UltraEthernet consortium solutions with packet trimming capabilities, and support for OCP-specified OB3 racks, reinforcing the company's commitment to open networking solutions purpose-built for AI.
Iceotope

100% Heat Capture for High-Power AI Infrastructure

  • Iceotope uses dielectric fluids and cold plates to capture 100% of thermal load.
  • Cutting cooling energy frees more power for GPUs and compute.
  • The approach targets thermal challenges from 1 MW racks and 8 kW chips.
Abstract
Neil Edmunds, VP of Product Management at Iceotope, presents advanced thermal management solutions at OCP 2025 that use dielectric fluids and cold plates to capture 100% of thermal load from high-power AI infrastructure, reducing cooling energy consumption. The Iceotope approach enables data centers to allocate more power to GPUs and compute resources while efficiently managing thermal challenges from 1 megawatt racks and 8 kW chips.
Lumentum

Lumentum Optics Powering AI Infrastructure

  • Lumentum tackles network power consumption with optical circuit switches and external laser sources for co-packaged optics.
  • Portfolio includes 1.6T partial retimed optics modules.
  • Lumentum participates in the OCP OCS working group to align vendors and hyperscalers on common standards.
Abstract
Michael DeMerchant, Sr. Director, Product Line Marketing at Lumentum, explains how the AI infrastructure buildout drives hyperscalers to focus on optical technologies, with Lumentum addressing network power consumption challenges through optical circuit switches, external laser sources for co-packaged optics, and 1.6T partial retimed optics modules. DeMerchant also highlights Lumentum's participation in OCP OCS working group standardization efforts to bring industry vendors and hyperscalers together for common standards that accelerate technology adoption.
Marvell

Marvell's CPO Switch Demo

  • Marvell's CPO reference platform is a liquid-cooled 1 OU system with 16 6.4T silicon-photonics light engines.
  • Scaling to 32 units per rack means managing over 36,000 fibers.
  • Rack-level success hinges on industry solutions for backplane design and fiber routing.
Abstract
Kishore Atreya, Sr. Director, Platform Product Management at Marvell, presents the company's co-packaged optics reference platform featuring a liquid-cooled 1 OU system with 16 6.4T light engines that integrate silicon photonics technology for electrical-to-optical signal conversion. He addresses the significant deployment challenge of managing over 36,000 fibers when scaling to 32 units per rack, emphasizing the need for industry solutions in backplane design and fiber routing for successful rack-level implementation.
Marvell

Unlocking Memory Bandwidth

  • Marvell's Structura CXL portfolio targets rising memory capacity and compute demands.
  • Structura A packs 16 ARM cores for deep learning and inference workloads.
  • Structura X enables memory expansion, mixing DDR4 and DDR5 with compression algorithms.
Abstract
Khurram Malik, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, CXL at Marvell, presents the company's Structura CXL product portfolio designed to address growing memory capacity and compute power demands. The portfolio includes Structura A with 16 ARM core processors for deep learning and inference workloads, and Structura X for memory expansion solutions that enable hyperscalers to combine DDR4 and DDR5 memory with compression algorithms.
Multilane

GPU Interconnect Testing

  • Multilane links interconnect testing directly to faster GPU revenue generation.
  • AECs, ACCs, and cable back cartridges enable cost-effective, scalable copper GPU connections.
  • Lifecycle testing matters more as the industry shifts to co-packaged and near-package optics.
Abstract
Hani Daou, Business Development Manager at Multilane, discusses the critical correlation between interconnect testing and accelerated GPU revenue generation, explaining how current trends including AECs, ACCs, and cable back cartridges enable cost-effective, scalable copper-based GPU connections. He emphasizes that comprehensive testing throughout the interconnect lifecycle is essential for monetizing GPU systems, particularly as the industry transitions to co-packaged optics and near-package optics for hyperscaler applications.
Oriole Networks

AI Needs Fully Photonic Networks - No Electronic Switching

  • Oriole Networks argues AI infrastructure demands a full rethink with far more optical components.
  • Its thesis: AI networks must be fully photonic, eliminating electronic packet switching entirely.
  • The goal is meeting the demanding performance requirements of modern AI workloads.
Abstract
Joost Verberk, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Oriole Networks, explains how AI infrastructure requires a complete rethinking of network architecture with significantly more optical components than current implementations. He emphasizes that Oriole Networks believes AI-focused networks must be fully photonic, eliminating electronic packet switching entirely to meet the demanding performance requirements of modern AI workloads.
UALink Consortium
  • UALink is pitched as a scale-up fabric with lower power, reduced latency, and efficient data movement.
  • It achieves nearly 200 Gbit/s on a 200 Gbit/s link.
  • Initial devices are expected in 2026, with widespread data center deployment in 2027.
Abstract
Kurtis Bowman, Chairman of UALink Consortium, presents UALink as a scaleup fabric solution that offers technical advantages including lower power consumption, reduced latency, and efficient data movement achieving nearly 200 Gbits per second on a 200 Gbit per second link. He reports that consortium members have IP available for designing switches and accelerators, with initial device availability expected in 2026 and widespread data center deployment anticipated in 2027.
Upscale AI

Open Scale-Up Solutions

  • Upscale AI builds open scale-up solutions using ASICs to interconnect GPUs.
  • The approach is standards-based, targeting hyperscalers' compute resource challenges.
Abstract
Aravind Srikumar, SVP of Product at Upscale AI, discusses how his company develops open scale-up solutions using ASICs to interconnect GPUs, addressing hyperscalers' compute resource challenges through standards-based approaches.
VIAVI

VIAVI's 800G AI Network Testing

  • VIAVI's B3 and M1 appliances generate 800-gigabit traffic with smaller footprint and lower power than traditional methods.
  • A Juniper collaboration demonstrates real-time network performance testing.
  • VIAVI showcases early Ultra Ethernet Consortium specs, enabling piece-wise testing of emerging layers and 800-gigabit NICs.
Abstract
Kevin Chang, Engineering Director, Hardware Platforms at VIAVI, presents advanced Ethernet test appliances at the OCP Global Summit that provide efficient testing for AI networks through B3 and M1 appliances generating 800-gigabit traffic with smaller footprint and lower power consumption than traditional GPU data center methods. VIAVI collaborates with Juniper to demonstrate real-time network performance testing and showcases early Ultra Ethernet Consortium specifications, enabling piece-wise testing of emerging network layers and 800-gigabit NICs as technologies move from specifications to hardware implementations.
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