What Centera Photonics does

Centera Photonics Inc. is a Taiwan-based privately held optoelectronic SoC design house founded in June 2010 and headquartered in Hsinchu Science Park. The company specializes in silicon photonics optical interconnect solutions, developing optical transceivers and Active Optical Cables (AOCs) that span data rates from 40Gbps to 800Gbps, with a 1.6Tbps development pipeline kicked off in 2023 and a 1.6Tbps DR8 LPO module announced for March 2026 in partnership with NewPhotonics. Centera's core technology is a semiconductor MEMS-based silicon photonic optical engine platform that integrates optical and electrical devices on a single silicon chip, enabling passive optical alignment (no lens required), ultra-compact form factors (e.g., 4mm x 6mm optical engine), and wafer-level manufacturing precision. The 400G COBO SR8 module exemplifies this platform, achieving 6.5W power consumption (approximately 35% power savings versus conventional designs) and earning the 2020 Hsin-Chu Science Park Innovation Award.

The company's revenue model is hardware-centric, selling optical transceivers and AOCs to hyperscale datacenter operators, enterprise datacenters, system integrators, switch vendors, and HPC/cloud customers. Pricing is quote-based B2B enterprise with no public price list, and the company supplements hardware sales with customization services for embedded optical modules (EOM) and on-board optics (OBO). Marketing and customer development is concentrated at major optical communications trade shows (OFC, ECOC, DesignCon) supplemented by direct enterprise sales. Centera holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, TUV, UL, REACH/RoHS, and TAA certifications, qualifying it for hyperscaler and US government-adjacent supply chains. The company has reached several commercial milestones including 100,000+ QSFP+ transceivers shipped to a North America Tier 1 data center by 2014, company-wide breakeven that same year, and high-volume 100G/400G AOC production in 2022.

Name

Centera Photonics

Legal name

Centera Photonics Inc.

Website

https://centera-photonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centera Photonics is a Taiwan-based silicon photonics design house that develops 40G-to-800G optical transceivers and Active Optical Cables for hyperscale datacenters, enterprise DCs, cloud, and HPC customers using its proprietary MEMS silicon optical engine platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Interconnect Modules

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing (335921)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Transceivers (SFP/SFP+/SFP28/QSFP/QSFP-DD/OSFP) (HDAFAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Active Optical Cables (AOC) & Optical Interconnects (HDAFAEAG), Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM), Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs) (HDAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Silicon photonics interconnects
• Optical transceiver modules
• Active optical cables
• Datacenter optical modules
• High-speed optical interconnect

Headquarters

HQ city

Hsinchu

HQ country

Taiwan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Optical Transceiver Sales: Sale of optical transceiver modules including 25G, 40G, 100G, 200G, 400G, 800G and beyond. Products include QSFP+, QSFP28, QSFP-DD, OSFP form factors for datacenter interconnects.
2. Active Optical Cable (AOC) Sales: Sale of Active Optical Cables for high-speed data transmission in datacenters, HPC, and storage applications. Product lines include 25G to 800G AOCs.
3. Customization and Design Services: Customization service for Miniaturized Embedded Optical Module (EOM) or On-Board Optics (OBO) for various bandwidth and applications. Provides complete system design services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Centera Photonics designs and manufactures silicon photonics optical interconnect modules, including optical transceivers and Active Optical Cables (AOCs) spanning 25G to 800G data rates in OSFP, QSFP-DD, QSFP28, QSFP+, QSFP112 and SFP28 form factors. The company leverages a proprietary semiconductor MEMS optical engine platform with passive optical alignment to deliver compact, ultra-low-power modules for datacenter, HPC, AI, cloud, storage, and consumer electronics applications, and also offers customization services for Embedded Optical Modules (EOM) and On-Board Optics (OBO).

Product overview

Centera Photonics is a silicon photonics optical interconnect solution provider offering two primary product lines: Optical Transceivers and Active Optical Cables (AOCs). The transceiver portfolio spans from 40G to 800G capacities across OSFP, QSFP-DD, QSFP28, and QSFP+ form factors, including specialized variants like DR4 (500m-2km SMF), FR4 (CWDM4), SR8 (short-reach multimode), and QSFP112 (next-gen 400G). The AOC line mirrors the transceiver speed tiers with integrated cable assemblies. Key differentiators include silicon MEMS-based optical engine platform enabling miniaturization and passive optical alignment, ultra-low power consumption (e.g., 400G COBO at 6.5W with ~35% power savings), and semiconductor-grade manufacturing precision. Products target hyperscale datacenters, HPC, AI/ML infrastructure, cloud computing, and storage applications. The company also offers customization services including embedded optical modules (EOM) and on-board optics (OBO) solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 800-Gbps OSFP SR8 Optical Transceiver Module High-speed 800Gbps optical transceiver module in OSFP form factor for hyperscale data center interconnects, supporting 100m links via OM3/OM4 multimode fiber.
• 800-Gbps QSFP-DD SR8 Optical Transceiver Module 800Gbps optical transceiver in QSFP-DD form factor supporting CMIS 5.0 management interface, compliant with IEEE 802.3db and IEEE 802.3ck, for Ethernet and InfiniBand NDR applications.
• 400-Gbps OSFP SR8 GEN1 Optical Transceiver Module 400Gbps OSFP SR8 transceiver compliant with IEEE 802.3 cd standards, designed for AI application and training workloads.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD SR8 GEN1 Optical Transceiver Module First generation 400Gbps QSFP-DD SR8 optical transceiver with typical power consumption of 10W per port.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD SR8 GEN3 Optical Transceiver Module Third generation 400Gbps QSFP-DD SR8 transceiver with low cost and low power design (7.5W typical per port), supporting module diagnostics and remote firmware upgrade per CMIS 4.
• 400G QSFP112-DR4 Optical Transceiver 400Gbps DR4 transceiver in QSFP112 form factor supporting up to 106.25Gbps per channel via PAM4 modulation, with MPO-12 optical interface and up to 500m link length on single-mode fiber.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD DR4 / DR4+ Optical Transceiver Module 400Gbps QSFP-DD DR4/DR4+ transceiver supporting links up to 500m/2km via single-mode fiber for data center interconnect applications.
• 400G QSFP112-FR4 Optical Transceiver 400Gbps FR4 transceiver in QSFP112 form factor with 4x100G PAM4 EML CWDM lasers, supporting 2km link length on SMF, low power dissipation under 8.5W.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD FR4 Optical Transceiver Module 400Gbps QSFP-DD FR4 transceiver compliant with IEEE 802.3 bs, supporting 500m links via SMF with typical power consumption of 8W.
• 100-Gbps QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module 100Gbps QSFP28 transceiver supporting 70m/100m links via OM3/OM4 multimode fiber with low power consumption (max 2.5W, typ. 1.8W).
• 100-Gbps QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module with Extended Reach Extended reach version of 100Gbps QSFP28 transceiver supporting up to 300m via OM4 (3x standard reach), compliant with IEEE 802.3bm 100GBASE-SR4.
• 100-Gbps QSFP28 CWDM4 Optical Transceiver 100Gbps QSFP28 CWDM4 transceiver supporting up to 2km link length over single-mode fiber with power dissipation under 3.5W.
• 100-Gbps QSFP28 DR1/FR1 Optical Transceiver Single-lambda 100Gbps QSFP28 DR1/FR1 transceiver supporting both FEC and non-FEC mode, with links up to 500m (DR1) or 2km (FR1) via SMF.
• 40-Gbps QSFP+ Optical Transceiver Module 40Gbps QSFP+ transceiver compliant with IEEE 802.3ba, supporting 100/150m link length via OM3/OM4 with power dissipation under 1.5W.
• 40-Gbps QSFP+ Optical Transceiver Module with Extended Link Length Extended reach version of 40Gbps QSFP+ supporting 300m link length via OM3 multimode fiber.
• 400G COBO SR8 High Speed Embedded Optical Module COBO X8, Class B size 400G high speed embedded optical module with ultra-low power consumption at 6.5W (~35% power saving vs. conventional modules) and a core optical engine footprint of 4mm x 6mm.
• 800-Gbps OSFP Active Optical Cable 800Gbps OSFP Active Optical Cable for high-speed data center interconnects with integrated transceiver functionality.
• 800-Gbps QSFP-DD Active Optical Cable 800Gbps QSFP-DD Active Optical Cable with maximum 12W power consumption per port, supporting Ethernet applications.
• 400-Gbps OSFP GEN1 Active Optical Cable First generation 400Gbps OSFP Active Optical Cable with 16-lane optical fiber and 3mm round cable, available in lengths from 1m to 30m.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD GEN1 Active Optical Cable First generation 400Gbps QSFP-DD Active Optical Cable compliant with CMIS 4.0, available in various lengths up to 30m.
• 400-Gbps QSFP-DD GEN3 Active Optical Cable Third generation 400Gbps QSFP-DD AOC with low power consumption (7.5W typical per port), supporting module diagnostics and remote firmware upgrade per CMIS 4.
• 100-Gbps OSFP28 Active Optical Cable 100Gbps OSFP28 AOC supporting 70m/100m links via OM3/OM4 with maximum 2.5W power consumption.
• 100G QSFP28 to 25G SFP28 Break-Out Active Optical Cable Break-out AOC converting one 100Gbps QSFP28 to four 25Gbps SFP28 ports, enabling mixed-speed connectivity with low power design.
• 56-Gbps QSFP+ Active Optical Cable 56Gbps QSFP+ AOC supporting InfiniBand FDR, QDR, DDR, and SDR, with aggregate data-rate links up to 100m.
• 48-Gbps Mini-SAS HD Active Optical Cable for SAS3.0 Application 48Gbps Mini-SAS HD AOC for SAS3.0 applications, backwards compatible with SAS-2.1, supporting up to 100m link length via OM3 MMF.
• 40-Gbps QSFP+ Active Optical Cable 40Gbps QSFP+ AOC with 4-channel bi-directional design, supporting 100m links with max 1.5W power consumption.
• 25-Gbps SFP28 Active Optical Cable 25Gbps SFP28 AOC with low power consumption (0.6W typ., 0.8W max by CDR enabled), supporting 70/100m via OM3/OM4 for intra- and inter-rack datacenter interconnection.
• Customization and Design Services for Embedded Optical Modules and On-Board Optics Customization service offering complete system design services for miniaturized Embedded Optical Modules (EOM) and On-Board Optics (OBO) tailored to customer-specific bandwidth and application requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~35% power saving vs conventional optical modules
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Delta Networks Inc. (DNI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2020Joint demonstration of 400G COBO SR8 with Delta Networks Inc. at OFC 2020. COBO device arranged on DNI's 12.8T switch. DNI's Open Networking Platform COBO PoC equipped with Centera's COBO received 2020 Lightwave Innovation Reviews Honoree Award.
• CredocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2019Strategic partnership on low power, cost and performance optimized 100G-DR/FR QSFP28 optical module. Credo's purpose-built mixed signal optical DSP solutions combined with Centera's optical engine technology enable best-in-class 100G production modules for datacenter customers.
• MaxLinearcoreTechnology or Integration · 19 September 2019MaxLinear provides Telluride PAM4 DSPs (MxL93542 and MxL93512) and PAM4 transimpedance amplifier (MxL9154) for Centera's 400G-DR4 and 100G-DR1 optical modules. MaxLinear's highly integrated DSPs enable superior performance, power, and cost for next-generation 100Gbps single lambda optical interconnects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Broadcom: Broadcom is a dominant supplier of high-speed optical transceivers (QSFP-DD, OSFP) and Ethernet switches, often bundled with its networking ASICs. Overlaps with Centera's transceiver and AOC portfolio but operates at vastly greater scale across a broader semiconductor portfolio.
• Marvell Technology (Inphi): Marvell's Inphi business supplies PAM4 DSPs and coherent optical components that pair with transceivers like Centera's. Overlaps as an ecosystem participant (DSP partner) and broader incumbent in high-speed optical interconnects.

Direct peers

• Intel (Silicon Photonics): Intel's Silicon Photonics division produces integrated optical transceivers using silicon photonics for datacom — directly overlapping with Centera's core silicon photonics platform and targeting the same hyperscale/OEM customers.
• Source Photonics: Source Photonics is a merchant optical transceiver and component supplier with strong 100G/400G/800G offerings to hyperscalers and OEMs. Closely comparable in product scope, customer profile, and merchant fabless/fab-light model.
• Innolight Technology: Innolight is a leading Chinese optical transceiver maker with broad 100G/400G/800G product lines serving global hyperscalers. Closely comparable in product portfolio, form factors, and customer segments.
• Hisense Broadband: Hisense Broadband produces optical transceiver modules and AOCs for datacom, including high-speed 400G/800G variants for hyperscale customers. Comparable in product family and target end-markets.
• Eoptolink Technology: Eoptolink manufactures optical transceivers and AOCs from 10G to 800G, supplying hyperscale datacenters and telecom operators. Directly comparable in product line breadth and datacom customer base.
• Coherent Corp: Coherent (formerly II‑VI) is one of the largest optical transceiver and component manufacturers globally, directly competing with Centera across 100G/400G/800G datacom transceivers, AOCs, and silicon photonics platforms. Highly comparable in product portfolio and hyperscale customer base.
• Lumentum Holdings: Lumentum designs and manufactures optical components and transceivers for datacom, including 400G/800G modules and laser/photonic chips. Directly comparable as a merchant supplier to hyperscalers and switch vendors.

Emerging players

• ColorChip: ColorChip is a niche optical transceiver maker focused on datacom interconnects using proprietary photonic integration. Comparable as a smaller silicon photonics-driven peer targeting similar hyperscale customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centera-photonics-inc

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centera Photonics