Coherent Gets Up to $50M U.S. Subsidy to Expand Indium Phosphide Capacity for AI Optical Communications

On June 16, optical communications manufacturer Coherent announced it has signed a Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive up to $50 million in direct grants under the CHIPS and Science Act. The funds will support expansion of its 6-inch indium phosphide semiconductor manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas, to meet growing high-speed optical communication demand from artificial intelligence data centers.

Coherent said the investment will increase indium phosphide wafer and photonic component production capacity to support optical network infrastructure growth. The company expects the expanded facility to create over 1,000 new jobs, including more than 550 advanced manufacturing, engineering, and technical positions, while doubling production space and increasing wafer capacity fourfold.