Amazon Web Services announced today that it will adopt 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical platform for its data center infrastructure, a collaboration intended to support the increasing power demands of artificial intelligence and large-scale computing. The partnership marks AWS’s first major deployment of 3M’s optical connectivity technology and is expected to create over 500 jobs across the U.S., according to the companies.
3M’s Expanded Beam Optical system is designed to handle the connectivity requirements of next-generation data centers. AWS, the cloud computing unit of Amazon and the dominant player in cloud infrastructure, will scale the technology across its operations. The collaboration aims to accelerate adoption of optical networking industry-wide.
“AWS’s adoption of 3M’s EBO platform demonstrates the potential of our optical connectivity technology to meet the performance demands of next-generation data center infrastructure,” said Wendy Bauer, group president of 3M’s Transportation and Electronics Business Group. “By combining AWS’s infrastructure expertise and scale with 3M’s innovation and materials science capabilities, we can accelerate EBO deployment, advance our transformation and strengthen U.S. innovation and investment.”
3M expects the partnership to contribute nearly $500 million to the U.S. economy, with the creation of more than 100 new jobs through 2027 across Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. The collaboration will support technology advancement, customer co-innovation and supply chain development.
The announcement comes as data center operators grapple with the infrastructure demands of artificial intelligence workloads. Modern AI systems consume significantly more power and require faster data transmission than traditional computing. Optical connectivity systems like 3M’s technology are central to meeting those demands at scale.
AWS already announced earlier this year that it would double production capacity at 3M’s Menomonie, Wisconsin manufacturing facility. That expansion is expected to accelerate under the new partnership.
Jens Gruenkemeir, vice president of supply chain and procurement at Amazon, said the investment reflects AWS’s strategy of building infrastructure domestically. “Our work with 3M reinforces our commitment to supporting good jobs here in the U.S. Beyond powering the services people use every day, from online banking and hospital data records to streaming entertainment and retail purchases, our data center investments are unlocking economic opportunities in the communities where we invest and across the supply chain, including the hundreds of jobs being supported by 3M as a result of its collaboration with Amazon.”
The partnership is expected to strengthen U.S. manufacturing in the optical networking sector. The companies plan to work with supply chain partners across Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin to support equipment and production scale-up, though they did not provide detailed timelines or deployment schedules.
3M’s optical connectivity business will focus on advancing innovation in optical networking and fiber termination, according to the announcement. AWS, facing competition from Microsoft and Google in the cloud infrastructure market, has increasingly emphasized domestic manufacturing and supply chain resilience in recent statements.
The deal underscores the centrality of data center infrastructure to the artificial intelligence boom, with major cloud providers and equipment manufacturers racing to build out the underlying hardware that supports large-scale AI training and deployment. For 3M, the partnership validates its investment in optical technology at a moment when demand for connectivity continues to accelerate.