Hyperscalers are rewiring AI data centers with optical links as copper runs out of headroom, and the French company that supplies the wafers underneath those links is turning that leverage into long-term contracts.
Soitec chief executive Laurent Remont told Reuters the company is signing multi-year supply agreements that carry deposits and fixed prices, with about 80 percent of more than 10 capacity reservations expected to close within two weeks and the rest within a month.
Demand is driven by photonics-SOI substrates, where UBS credits Soitec with roughly 95 percent of the market. Revenue from the line is set to at least double this fiscal year from just above $100M, meaning more than $200M, which Remont describes as the floor rather than the ceiling.
The terms work as a hedge against hoarding: a deposit backs each committed volume, buyers forfeit it if they fall short and get it back when they take the agreed amount, and inventory data must be shared, with any purchase beyond the contract reopening the price.
Soitec is expanding by reusing cleanroom space, including a French hall once built for silicon carbide, and qualified customers at a Singapore plant five months ago. Whether it equips an additional Singapore building will be decided within the next year.
