Expanded beam optical technology is getting a manufacturing partner in Taiwan. 3M announced on October 19, 2026 (US time) a collaboration with Genius Electronic Optical Co., Ltd. (GSEO), an optical technology company listed in Taiwan, to advance development and manufacturing of 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) solutions. To support the work, 3M expects to buy about 4.7% of GSEO’s common shares. This article is based on 3M’s press release, which is the company’s own account.
What 3M and GSEO announced on expanded beam optical
According to the release, the collaboration pairs 3M’s EBO technology, optical interconnect expertise, materials science, manufacturing scale and customer relationships with GSEO’s precision optics manufacturing and production scale. The stated aim is to support EBO commercialisation and long-term capacity expansion to meet growing demand from hyperscale data centres and other advanced connectivity applications.
The investment would come through GSEO’s private placement of newly issued shares. 3M expects it to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The release does not give a price or deal value.
“By selecting GSEO as a manufacturing partner and investing in the company, we are strengthening the path to scale next-generation optical connectivity solutions for high-performance data center infrastructure,” said William Brown, 3M Chairman and CEO. Micro Kuo, GSEO CEO and President, said the collaboration “brings together complementary technology and manufacturing strengths.”
Where expanded beam optical parts fit in data centres
Large data centres move huge amounts of data between servers and switches, and much of it now travels as light through optical fibre. Every connection point needs precise parts that line up the fibres. The release says GSEO’s precision optics capabilities and technical experience are expected to support manufacturing readiness for 3M’s EBO ferrules, co-packaged optics solutions and related optical interconnect applications. A ferrule is the small component that holds and aligns fibre ends inside a connector.
The release does not explain how 3M’s EBO design works or give performance figures, so I won’t add claims it doesn’t make. For background on related hardware, see our coverage of co-packaged optics trays from Lightmatter and Flex and Linktel’s 1.6T linear pluggable optics module.
3M describes the deal as part of a broader EBO ecosystem strategy that includes continued work with customers and partners across the optical interconnect market. In other words, GSEO is one partner, not necessarily the only one.
What the release does not say
Several things are missing. There is no production volume, no timeline for when EBO products reach customers at scale, no names of data centre customers, and no technical specifications such as loss, density or speed. The release mentions hyperscale data centres but does not specifically mention AI workloads, so the AI angle is context rather than a company claim. It also does not say where manufacturing will happen or whether 3M will get board seats or other rights at GSEO.
The release carries a standard forward-looking statements notice, and the share purchase still has to close. Plans like capacity expansion depend on demand, which the companies expect to grow but which nobody can guarantee. For a wider view of how chipmaking and its supply chain are changing, see our piece on computational lithography from Siemens and NVIDIA.
My view on 3M’s expanded beam optical bet
As a writer, I think the interesting part is the pairing itself. A materials company with a connector design is linking up with a precision optics maker that already produces at scale, and backing that with an equity stake. That suggests 3M sees manufacturing capacity, not just design, as a bottleneck for optical connectivity. On the other hand, a 4.7% stake and a collaboration announcement are early steps. I would want to see products shipping, customer adoption and independent performance data before calling this a shift in how data centres are wired.
FAQ: expanded beam optical and the 3M-GSEO deal
What is 3M investing in GSEO?
3M expects to acquire about 4.7% of GSEO’s common shares through a private placement of newly issued shares. It expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions. No price was disclosed.
What will GSEO make for 3M?
According to the release, GSEO’s precision optics capabilities are expected to support manufacturing readiness for 3M’s EBO ferrules, co-packaged optics solutions and related optical interconnect applications.
Is this specifically for AI data centres?
The release names hyperscale data centres and other advanced connectivity applications. It does not mention AI directly, though those data centres run many kinds of large workloads.