BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Zhongji InnoLight Co., Ltd., China's optical module giant, reported a blockbuster first quarter that saw net profit surge more than 262 percent, fueled by aggressive investment in computing power infrastructure from global AI players.

In the first quarter, operating revenue jumped 192.12 percent to 19.5 billion yuan (about 2.84 billion U.S. dollars), while net profit attributable to shareholders soared 262.28 percent to nearly 5.74 billion yuan, according to the company's quarterly report released late Thursday. The single-quarter profit already exceeded the company's full-year earnings for 2024, underscoring the breakneck acceleration in demand.

The surge in Zhongji InnoLight's financial performance is a direct reflection of an explosive, structural shift in AI computing.

Industry data suggests the global market for such modules could exceed 50 billion U.S. dollars in 2026, up more than 60 percent year on year. While 800G modules remain the mainstream workhorse, 1.6T modules have already entered mass production.

This technological shift reflects a major change in how AI data centers are evolving. As AI training and inference clusters expand, traditional copper interconnects hit hard limits in power consumption, heat dissipation, and effective transmission distance. Optical interconnect, which uses pulses of light instead of electrical signals, has moved from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have."

An industry analyst offered a simple analogy: "In the old days, data centers were like rural dirt roads, and copper was good enough. Today's AI data centers are like rush-hour traffic in a megacity. Without a highway system, everything grinds to a halt. Optical communication is that highway system."

Zhongji InnoLight is not alone in riding the AI computing wave. Several Chinese companies, including BIWIN Storage Technology, Shannon Semi, Shenzhen Techwinsemi Technology, and Sharetronic Data, also reported significant year-on-year growth or expressed positive expectations for their first-quarter net profits.

Analysts noted that amid the current global surge in demand for AI computing power, China's optical module companies have demonstrated robust technological breakthroughs and financial resilience. They have built first-mover advantages through high-end product iteration, overseas capacity expansion, and differentiated technology roadmaps.

Meanwhile, national-level policy support is injecting strong momentum into the optical module industry and the entire computing power industrial chain.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said that China will continue to strengthen fundamental research and tackle key core technologies, focusing on new model algorithms and high-end computing chips to solidify the foundation for AI development.

In a separate initiative, seven ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, issued a plan to boost service-oriented manufacturing, calling for a stronger new information infrastructure and the deployment of computing power capacity on demand.

Analysts argued that, driven by both policy support and market demand, China's domestic computing power industrial chain is taking shape at an accelerated pace. On the demand side, major tech companies continue to ramp up capital expenditures, and a consensus is gradually forming around the localization of computing power. On the supply side, breakthroughs in advanced manufacturing processes and corporate innovation are accelerating the formation of a self-sufficient industrial chain. ■