17 Mar 2026
12:00 - 12:30
Expo Theater II
Dr. Yawei Yin, researcher at Microsoft, will share his insights into the future of cloud and AI infrastructure, with a focus on the critical role of optical technologies in enabling next-generation data centers. Drawing from his academic and industry experience, Dr. Yin will highlight emerging challenges and opportunities in scaling networks to meet the demands of rapidly evolving AI workloads.
Moderator
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Kumi Omori
Senior Specialist, NEC, Japan
Speaker
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Yawei Yin
Microsoft Azure, United States
AI clusters and cloud services are placing unprecedented demands on data-center networks for bandwidth, latency, reliability, and energy‑efficiency. This keynote surveys next‑generation optical technologies that enable scaling within and across facilities. Inside the data center, we’ll examine the transition to 800G/1.6T Ethernet optics, the rise of full- and half-linear-drive optics and external‑laser architectures with CPO, and the role of CMIS‑driven telemetry for fleet‑wide automation and reliability. We’ll discuss form‑factor, bandwidth density and thermal constraints, backward‑compatibility and brownfield migration, and how co‑packaged optics and emerging optical I/O chiplets may reshape switch and accelerator designs. For inter‑data‑center connectivity, we’ll track the evolution from 400ZR/1600ZR(+) to higher‑rate coherent transceivers, explore a roadmap to converge the evolution paths of both intra and inter DC connections, and address operational considerations such as OSNR margin, security, and multi‑vendor interoperability. Throughout, we’ll connect technology choices to business outcomes for our customers—pJ/bit, W/port, failure rates, and operational simplicity—and share lessons from hyperscale deployments that turn optical innovation into dependable, energy-efficient and cost‑effective capacity. Attendees will leave with a pragmatic roadmap of equipment, technologies, applications, and deployment scenarios to build AI‑ready networks that scale with optics.