3M and AWS collaborate to advance optical connectivity innovation

3M and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an expanded collaboration to deploy 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) platform within AWS data center infrastructure. The initiative aims to meet the performance demands of advanced AI and super intelligence systems by integrating 3M’s optical connectivity technology. AWS will scale the platform to support next-generation data center requirements, reinforcing its commitment to high-performance infrastructure. The partnership combines AWS’s operational scale with 3M’s materials science expertise to accelerate deployment and innovation.

3M’s Group President of Transportation and Electronics, Wendy Bauer, highlighted the technology’s potential to address data center performance needs. She emphasized that the collaboration would strengthen U.S. innovation and investment by merging AWS’s infrastructure leadership with 3M’s capabilities. The announcement underscores the strategic importance of optical connectivity in powering AI-driven systems and next-generation data centers.

AWS Vice President Jens Gruenkemeir noted the collaboration’s role in supporting U.S. jobs, including hundreds of roles at 3M across Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin. The initiative is expected to create over 100 new jobs by 2027, with additional indirect employment opportunities. These roles will focus on co-innovation, technology advancement, and supply chain development within 3M’s optical networking portfolio.

The collaboration is projected to contribute nearly $0.5 billion to the U.S. economy through 3M’s optical connectivity business. It will accelerate innovation in optical networking and fiber termination, enabling commercialization at scale. The partnership builds on 3M’s earlier announcement to double production capacity at its Menomonie, Wisconsin, facility, further supporting U.S. manufacturing partners in the supply chain.