Applied Optoelectronics, a leading provider of advanced optical and HFC networking products, has been awarded a $20,852,518 grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund to support its manufacturing expansion plans in Sugar Land, Texas.
The grant will support AOI’s 2026 plans to occupy an additional 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility adjacent to its current Sugar Land headquarters, where it will establish one of the largest production capacities for AI-focused data center transceivers in the U.S. and create over 500 new jobs. Founded by a team from the University of Houston, AOI has operated in Texas for 29 years and supplies optical products to tier-one customers across cloud computing, CATV broadband, telecom, and FTTH markets.
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Texas is leading America’s resurgence in advanced manufacturing. This investment by AOI to expand their operations in Sugar Land will create hundreds of high-skilled jobs and advance our state’s leadership in innovation and semiconductor manufacturing.
Governor Greg Abbott, State of Texas
We are honored to accept this award. The support from the State of Texas is critical to our expansion plans and is a tangible commitment by the state to advancing semiconductor innovation for the AI era. With this investment, we can continue to expand our Texas-based capacity for production of the advanced high-speed optical transceivers that interconnect today’s AI data centers, helping cloud providers improve network performance while making their data centers more energy efficient and scalable.
Stefan Murry, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer, Applied Optoelectronics
