As of March 17, 2026

The AI Photonics & Optical Infrastructure sector is ripping higher as OFC 2026's exhibition floor opens today in Los Angeles. $SLOIF leads the tape at +8.58% — Soitec's Photonics SOI technology feeds directly into co-packaged optics (CPO) integration for AI data centers StockAnalysis, and the company secured a multi-year POI wafer supply deal with Skyworks earlier this month. With 16,000 attendees and 700+ exhibitors descending on the LA Convention Center, the entire optical value chain is catching a pre-show bid (convergedigest.com/ofc-…).

OFC 2026 reflects a clear shift in the optical industry's center of gravity toward AI infrastructure Converge Digest. The 800G-to-1.6T migration, CPO architectures, and optical circuit switching for AI fabrics dominate this week's agenda. NDX flipped green (+1.17%), confirming risk-on sentiment is broadening beyond the photonics pocket.

$SLOIF: +8.58%

$TSEM: +8.36%

$COHR: +7.10%

$AEHR: +6.78%

$SOI: +6.68%

$LITE: +6.18%

$CIEN: +5.83%

$FORM: +4.26%

$GLW: +3.73%

$MRVL: +3.36%

$KEYS: +3.13%

$GFS: +3.11%

$AAOI: +1.68%

$IQE: +1.51%

$ALMU: +1.42%

$POET: +1.32%

$NDX: +1.17%

$SPX: +1.13%

$BESIY: +0.26%

$AXTI: −2.99%

$LWLG: −4.73%

1. Foundries & Substrate Suppliers$TSEM: +8.36%. Still the alpha dog. Tower's booth at OFC opens today — showcasing the SiPho/SiGe platform behind its NVIDIA 1.6T collaboration and the $920M capex ramp. Benchmark and Susquehanna PTs at $165/$180.

SLOIF, $SOI: Soitec ripping on Photonics SOI + the Skyworks POI supply deal. The OTC listing (

SLOIF) is the less liquid version; $SOI on Euronext is the same stock with tighter spreads.

$GFS: +3.11%. GlobalFoundries riding the same specialty foundry wave. SiPho and RF-SOI platforms serve adjacent AI networking demand.

$IQE: +1.51%. InP epiwafer supplier catching a modest sympathy bid.

$AXTI: −2.99%. Still bleeding. Export permit overhang on China InP shipments persists. Better than Friday's −6.41% but not out of the woods.

2. Optical Transceivers & Active Components

$COHR: +7.10%. Coherent CTO Julie Sheridan Eng delivers today's OFC plenary keynote. 1.6T pluggable demos are the direct catalyst.

$LITE: +6.18%. Lumentum benefits from the same 1.6T transceiver migration cycle. Both names are toll-booths on AI data center bandwidth.

$MRVL: +3.36%. Marvell's expanded 1.6T optical DSP platform is front and center at booth #1600. Every high-speed module needs a DSP.

$AAOI: +1.68%. AOI showcasing CPO/NPO readiness and a narrow-linewidth pump laser at OFC. Modest move, but positioning for the next transceiver architecture cycle.

3. Next-Gen Photonic Materials & ICs

$LWLG: −4.73%. Giving back after the 41% surge on the TSEM PH18 polymer modulator partnership (Mar 13). Classic "sell the news" on a stock that moved too far, too fast. The commercial validation is real but revenue is still 2027+.

$POET: +1.32%. Optical interposer thesis remains a show-me. Needs a volume design win to break out.

$ALMU: +1.42%. Tracking the broader photonic materials tape without a specific catalyst.

4. Test, Measurement & Networking Infrastructure

$AEHR: +6.78%. Aehr's wafer-level burn-in systems are picks-and-shovels on every SiPho/GaN qualification cycle. Direct leverage on the foundry capex wave.

$FORM: +4.26%. FormFactor probe cards serve the same test-and-qualify layer.

$CIEN: +5.83%. Ciena is the networking systems integrator deploying coherent optical into AI data center fabrics.

$KEYS: +3.13%. Keysight's optical T&M gear is what every 1.6T interop demo at OFC runs on.

$GLW: +3.73%. Corning's fiber and specialty glass — the physical layer under every buildout.

$BESIY: +0.26%. BE Semi lagging today after leading Friday. Consolidating.