Issue 68Published October 13, 2026
Editor noteThis archived Ash AI Daily issue retains the delivered editorial briefing and final cards.
Story 1AI Daily
NVIDIA and Cisco propose USFP optics for AI fabrics
NVIDIA and Cisco announced plans for Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP), a proposed 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module format for Ethernet AI fabrics. The companies say an initial module design could support up to 12.8Tb/s using 16 full-duplex lanes in an OSFP-sized footprint, and claim 4× bandwidth density and roughly 1.3× power efficiency versus 200Gb/s-per-lane pluggables. They are working with TE Connectivity and Amphenol and plan an open community-led specification. These are planned, forward-looking specifications rather than a shipping standard.
- NVIDIA and Cisco announced plans for Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP), a proposed 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module format for Ethernet AI fabrics. The companies say an initial module design could support up to 12.8Tb/s using 16 full-duplex lanes in an OSFP-sized footprint, and claim 4× bandwidth density and roughly 1.3× power efficiency versus 200Gb/s-per-lane pluggables. They are working with TE Connectivity and Amphenol and plan an open community-led specification. These are planned, forward-looking specifications rather than a shipping standard.
Why it matters
AI infrastructure is increasingly constrained by the network that moves data between accelerators. If the form factor gains ecosystem support, operators could add fabric capacity in the same footprint and avoid additional network tiers; procurement teams should treat it as an emerging interoperability signal, not an available product.
Sources
NVIDIA and Cisco propose USFP optics for AI fabricsNVIDIA and Cisco press release · Oct 13, 2026
