China’s export controls on indium phosphide since February 2025 have delayed license approvals for optical-chip shipments critical to AI data centers, prompting Nvidia-backed Coherent’s CEO to raise the issue during a US-China delegation. Nvidia committed $2 billion in March to photonics firms Coherent and Lumentum, bolstering InP supply for optical modules.
China imposed export controls on indium phosphide in February 2025, a material essential for high-speed optical chips in AI data centers. These restrictions have held up license approvals for critical shipments, threatening to slow the global buildout of energy-efficient AI infrastructure.
Coherent’s CEO Jim Anderson addressed the InP licensing delays during a US-China business delegation visit in June 2026, highlighting the bottleneck’s strategic importance. The topic also surfaced in trade negotiations in Seoul, signaling its role as a lever in broader technology talks.
In March, Nvidia committed $2 billion to photonics specialists Coherent and Lumentum to strengthen InP-based supply chains. The funding aims to accelerate development of optical modules, ensuring steady material availability for future AI compute deployments.
