The Great Optics-Copper Crossroads
The Great Optics-Copper Crossroads  
Podcast: Semi Doped
Published On: Sat Mar 07 2026
Description: This week, Austin and Vik break down the optics vs. copper debate that rocked semis this week. Nvidia dropped $4 billion on Lumentum and Coherent, Credo posted a blowout quarter betting on copper, and then Hock Tan shocked everyone claiming 400G per lane works over copper in Broadcom’s labs — potentially pushing CPO out to 2030+. Plus, Vik’s 4D chess conspiracy theory on why Hock Tan is talking up copper when Broadcom is a CPO company.Like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts on the copper vs. optics debate in the comments!Subscribe to our newsletters:* Chipstrat by Austin Lyons — chipstrat.com* Vik’s Semiconductor Newsletter by Vik Sekar  — viksnewsletter.comChapters(00:00) - Newsletter Plugs: Groq LPUs & Broadcom’s Laser Business(03:15) - Dynamo & the Rise of Workload-Specific Hardware(08:04) - Austin’s Broadcom Laser Deep Dive(09:53) - The Week’s Whiplash: Optics Monday, Copper Wednesday(17:50) - Why Nvidia Invested $4B: Geopolitics, Supply & the HBM Playbook(24:15) - CPO Lasers & Optical Circuit Switches(26:16) - Credo Earnings: 200% YoY Growth & the Copper Bull Case(31:09) - Reliability, AECs & Oracle’s GPU Cluster Problem(35:48) - Credo’s Optics Play: Micro-LED Active Cables & the CPO Timing Risk(38:45) - Broadcom Earnings: Hock Tan’s Copper Bombshell(43:34) - Customer-Owned Tooling: Hock Tan Says “Good Luck”(44:25) - Vik’s 4D Chess Theory: Why Hock Tan Talks Up Copper(47:03) - Wrap-Up: It’s Both — The Real Question Is Timing