Applied Optoelectronics Adds 388,000 Square Feet of Manufacturing Capacity in Pearland, Texas

Applied Optoelectronics (AOI) announced on April 17 plans to expand its Houston-area footprint with two adjacent buildings in Pearland, Texas, adding approximately 388,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity for optical transceivers used in AI data centers.

900,000 square feet in the Houston area

The expansion brings AOI’s Houston-area footprint to roughly 900,000 square feet. It builds on a 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility under development near the company’s Sugar Land headquarters, where AOI operates 135,000 square feet of capacity, and a recently leased 154,000-square-foot building at Blue Ridge Commerce Center.

Up to 700,000 transceivers a month

With the new properties, AOI says it will have the footprint to produce up to 700,000 units of 800G and 1.6T transceivers per month in the Houston area. On July 14, the company announced it had begun construction at the two Pearland properties, located at 14621 Kirby Drive and 11555 N. Spectrum Boulevard.

Dr. Thompson Lin, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AOI said:

“The demand for optical connectivity in data centers has exceeded our expectations.”

Dr. Stefan Murry, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer of AOI said:

“This expansion is aligned with the 2027 capacity targets we outlined on our most recent earnings call and represents the next step in our strategy to become the premier high-volume U.S. producer of AI-focused data center transceivers and optics.”