NVIDIA and Cisco propose USFP 400Gb/s-per-lane pluggable optics for AI factories

NVIDIA and Cisco announce plans for Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP), a 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module that enables capacity up to 12.8Tb/s.

USFP delivers 4x the bandwidth density and about 1.3x the power efficiency of 200Gb/s-per-lane pluggable modules, letting AI factories scale without adding network tiers.

TE Connectivity and Amphenol are building USFP cages, connectors and modules, and the companies plan an open industry specification through a community-led multi-source project.