Goldman Sachs China Semis: YJ Semi (688498) Mgmt. Visit — CW Lasers in Expansion; Rising Silicon Photonics Penetration in 800G/1.6T
Summaries are public. PDF access requires an active membership; all members have the same access. Sign in
Goldman Sachs hosted YJ Semi (688498.SS, unrated) management at its AI Outlook Corporate Day on January 15, 2026. Management shared an optimistic outlook for the optical module business, driven by the accelerated deployment of AI infrastructure across US and Chinese cloud providers and ongoing specification upgrades toward 1.6T and 800G transceivers. Goldman Sachs projects global 800G and 1.6T optical module shipments will reach 38 million and 14 million units in 2026, respectively, with 1.6T modules split 60% from GPU AI servers and 40% from ASIC AI servers.
YJ Semi, a domestic supplier of EML and CW lasers serving major module manufacturers, reported a 71% year-over-year revenue increase in the first half of 2025, fueled by robust data center demand. The company has commenced mass production of 70mW CW lasers, successfully passed customer validation for 100mW variants, and is actively developing 300mW products.
Management expects optical module growth to continue accelerating into 2026, noting that silicon photonics is expanding faster than EML. This trend benefits YJ Semi, which holds significant exposure to CW lasers, primarily at the 70mW level. With InP substrate suppliers diversified across China and Japan, the company aims to rank among the world's leading CW laser providers by 2026. Goldman Sachs recommends Landmark, VPEC, Innolight, Eoptolink, TFC Optical, and Ruijie Networks.