Co-packaged optics ecosystem lacks testing standards, ASE warns

ASE senior technical program manager Nicole Tien addressed attendees at OCP APAC 2026 to underline a paradox in AI infrastructure development: co-packaged optics has become recognized as a critical inflection point—a fundamental technological shift required to handle the data demands of modern AI systems. Yet the ecosystem remains unprepared. Tien identified two specific areas where the industry has fallen short: shared testing standards and simulation groundwork. Without standardized testing protocols, different vendors cannot verify that their co-packaged optics solutions will work reliably in production environments or interoperate with other components. Equally important, the lack of mature simulation tools means that architects and engineers cannot accurately model system behavior before committing to large capital investments in hardware and infrastructure. This mismatch between technological urgency and operational readiness creates friction. Manufacturers cannot confidently validate designs; data center operators cannot plan deployments with full confidence; and the industry as a whole cannot move in a coordinated direction. Tien's intervention at the conference signals that ASE, a major player in the semiconductor ecosystem, sees standardization as a prerequisite for the next phase of AI infrastructure maturity.