NTT, SK Group Plan $500M AI Optical Network Fund; NTT Pushes All-Photonics Backbone and U.S. Consortium

NTT, SK Group, Chunghwa Telecom, SK Hynix, and Japanese banks plan a $500M fund (Catalight Capital, Young Sohn) to advance IOWN photonics-electronics convergence for AI optical networking. This strategic move signals serious industrial backing for next-generation optical interconnects and could shape future standards and supply chains. Separately, NTT is pushing 400G backbone with All-Photonics Network architecture, extending to submarine cables, showing real deployment momentum beyond domestic routes. NTT is also leading a U.S. consortium for data center optical standards, contrasting with XOptics MSA momentum and highlighting competitive dynamics in standardization. Japanese government funds ACCESS/IP Infusion to deploy APN technologies in overseas AI data centers, supporting IOWN vision. Chunghwa-Fujitsu APN partnership adds concrete operator-led deployment signal for IOWN, including submarine cable tests and quantum security, aligning with Taiwan's AI data center energy crunch. SK Telecom validates disaggregated IPoDWDM with OpenZR+ on IOWN APN, using SDN Orchestrator for multi-vendor optical control, reinforcing IOWN momentum and open optical networking.