3M of the United States Plans to Acquire Approximately 4.7% Stake in GSEO to Expand Optical Interconnect Manufacturing

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 19, 3M Company of the United States announced a partnership with Taiwan, China-based optical technology company Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) to jointly advance the research, development, and manufacturing of Expanded Beam Optics (EBO) interconnect technology. 3M plans to acquire approximately 4.7% of GSEO's common shares through subscription to newly issued shares in a private placement, with the strategic investment expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The two parties will collaborate to expand production capacity for optical interconnect components targeting hyperscale data centers.

Under the partnership arrangement, 3M will contribute expanded beam optics interconnect technology, materials research and development, optical connectivity product development, and customer resources, while GSEO will leverage its precision optics manufacturing and large-scale production capabilities to support manufacturing readiness and technology development for expanded beam fiber optic connector ferrules, co-packaged optics devices, and related optical interconnect products. The two parties will also advance commercialization of expanded beam optics products and long-term capacity expansion, covering artificial intelligence data centers and other high-performance connectivity applications.

On March 16, 2026, 3M announced the expansion of its U.S. manufacturing capacity for expanded beam optics interconnect products, adding advanced production equipment and manufacturing space, with plans to more than double the related capacity. The technology products began commercial sales and achieved volume production in late 2024. In May 2026, 3M also participated in establishing the Expanded Beam Optics Interconnect Multi-Source Agreement consortium, working with optical communications equipment and component companies to advance interface specification development.