Author: Mr. Lin Weizhi, Executive Vice President, Ji-Pu Industrial Trend Research Institute

In Broadcom's latest press conference (2026.03.04), CEO Hock Tan made it clear that copper will continue to be used for internal data center interconnections in the 400G SerDes generation, even through 2028. This statement quickly sent shockwaves through the market. It has long been assumed that the rapid expansion of AI clusters will accelerate the penetration of optical interconnects, and even that co-packaged optics (CPO) is expected to become commercially viable around 2026. Hock Tan's statement, however, is tantamount to extending the lifecycle of copper interconnects by a few more years. This view was quickly echoed by parts of the supply chain. In a recent interview, Credo, a supplier of high-speed SerDes and active copper cable (AEC) technology, also noted that CPO penetration is likely to remain in the low single digits for the next few years. The company believes that