Applied Optoelectronics Expands Houston Footprint to 900,000 Sq Ft, Targets 700,000 Monthly Transceivers
Applied Optoelectronics plans to expand its Houston-area footprint to 900,000 square feet by adding 388,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity in Pearland. These facilities will enable production of up to 700,000 units per month of 800G and 1.6T transceivers and boost laser fabrication capacity by 350% by 2027.
1. Expansion of Manufacturing Footprint
Applied Optoelectronics will acquire two adjacent buildings in Pearland, Texas, adding approximately 388,000 square feet to its existing Houston-area manufacturing footprint. This increases its total regional capacity to 900,000 square feet, supplementing an under-construction 210,000-square-foot facility, a 135,000-square-foot operational site, and a newly leased 154,000-square-foot building.
2. Production Capacity Increase
The expanded footprint will enable production of up to 700,000 800G and 1.6T transceiver units per month and plans to boost laser fabrication capacity by around 350% by the end of 2027. These enhancements support accelerating demand for optical connectivity in AI datacenters and high-capacity networking applications.
3. Strategic Impact and Growth Outlook
This expansion is designed to meet the company’s 2027 capacity targets and position Applied Optoelectronics as a premier high-volume U.S. producer of AI-focused data center optics. By scaling manufacturing and fabrication capabilities, the company aims to secure tier-one cloud and telecom contracts and capitalize on the next wave of AI infrastructure deployments.