Goldman Sachs significantly increases demand for optical modules, supply chain tension may become the biggest bottleneck by 2027 According to BlockBeats, on September 14th, Goldman Sachs significantly raised its demand forecast for high-speed optical modules after visiting 15 optical communication companies in China. The demand for 800G and above optical modules in 2027 and 2028 will be revised up by 39% and 36% respectively to 144 million and 171 million units. Goldman Sachs also predicts that the price of 1.6T optical modules will remain above $700, and the price reduction of 800G products in 2027 will only be in single digits. The demand growth mainly comes from the expansion of AI server racks, the transition of network architecture from horizontal expansion to vertical expansion and cross layer interconnection extension, and the continuous upgrading of optical modules to higher speeds. The interviewed companies expect the overall demand in the Chinese market to achieve double-digit growth, with a scale of over 50 million units. Currently, 800G and 400G are still the main products, and 1.6T is in the early stages of production. Goldman Sachs believes that industry constraints are shifting from the demand side to the supply side, DSP、 The continuous shortage of key components such as lasers and PCBs may directly limit the actual shipment volume in 2027. At the same time, top manufacturers are locking in production capacity through prepayments, long-term supply agreements, and investing in suppliers, or further strengthening industry concentration and supporting the price performance of high-speed optical modules. In terms of CPO, Goldman Sachs expects CPO switch shipments to increase from 10000 units in 2026 to 92000 units in 2027 and 131000 units in 2028, with testing and coupling equipment vendors expected to benefit first. Lobotec's Q2 revenue increased by 172% month on month, higher than Goldman Sachs' expectation of 141%, and the visibility of related equipment orders has extended to 2028. [Original link]