Nvidia and Cisco Unveil USFP Pluggable Optical Module Standard With 400Gb/s Per Lane

On October 12, Nvidia and Cisco announced USFP, a new ultra-high-density pluggable optical module standard. The first planned product supports 400Gb/s electrical signaling per lane, delivering four times the bandwidth density of existing 200Gb/s-per-lane pluggable modules. The companies said the new design fits 16 full-duplex lanes in the same module size as current OSFP modules, for an aggregate capacity of 6.4Tb/s, with a future path to 32 lanes and 12.8Tb/s.

Nvidia and Cisco are working with TE Connectivity and Amphenol on cages, connectors and modules, and plan to push USFP toward an open industry specification through a community-led multi-source agreement. The standard supports a maximum power of 100W without requiring an integrated cooling loop inside the transceiver. Its two-dimensional array connector uses a two-step insertion mechanism intended to reduce contact wear and improve signal integrity. USFP is compatible with multiple optical technologies and link distances, giving system designers flexibility for different AI data center deployments.

The companies described the effort as a response to interconnect bottlenecks as AI factories scale. They have not disclosed a product launch or mass-production timeline; USFP remains in the design planning stage.