Google has joined Nvidia in placing substantial orders for optical interconnect components with Taiwanese manufacturer Innolux as the pair continues aggressive efforts to phase out copper from its hardware.

Local news site UDN reports that “large orders” for components were placed with the pair looking to diversify supply away from Chinese suppliers like InnoLight at the behest of the Trump administration.

Nvidia reportedly engaged Innolux because its established suppliers were struggling to satisfy demand, making the component agreement essentially an overflow order.

Google is believed to have placed its own order, a move likely necessitated by the knock-on effect of Nvidia’s aggressive supply chain procurement.

The Blackwell developer has been pursuing strategies to secure its supply chain amid plans to scale adoption of co-packaged optics (CPO), with CPO iterations of its Spectrum-X Ethernet and InfiniBand-based Quantum-X networking switches set to launch this year.

Only last week, the tech giant pumped $4 billion evenly between optical suppliers Lumentum and Coherent amid growing industry component shortages. It also invested in Ayar Labs, with the optical interconnect startup looking to scale high-volume production of its CPO offerings.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang even said at a recent Morgan Stanley technology conference that he “love[d] constrains” because “in a world of constraints, you have no choice but to choose the best.”

Reports last year suggested Nvidia’s silicon photonics and CPO efforts were advancing much more slowly than anticipated, owing to supply chain bottlenecks, forcing Huang’s hand into placing large orders – a strategic play given demand for its existing network fabric solutions is soaring, accounting for $11 billion in Q1 alone.

Nvidia’s efforts could mean longer lead times for its rivals like Google, with prior reports suggesting competitors face wait times for components beyond 2027 as a result.

Google’s order comes as it looks to ramp up its own optical switch efforts.

Having debuted its Mission Apollo project back in 2023, which sought to replace traditional network switches with optical circuit switches, the tech giant is reportedly advancing the project to boost connectivity within its data centers. It also lent its backing to the Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP)’s project to develop an open-standard photonic networking switch.

Innolux is also a supplier for SpaceX, providing the Elon Musk-owned firm with chips made using its fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) process – a packaging technique that processes chips on large rectangular panels, instead of traditional circular wafers.