As the global AI computing power race intensifies, indium phosphide (InP) substrate, the core cornerstone of the optical communication industry, has become a more scarce strategic material than chips. This fingernail-sized material serves as the "growth soil" for high-end optical chips, with electron mobility more than twice that of gallium arsenide and perfect matching with optical fiber communication bands.

    Accounting for nearly 30% of the raw material cost of optical chips, it is known as the "profit throat" of the optical communication industry.
    Data shows that in 2025, 91% of the global InP substrate market is monopolized by three enterprises: Sumitomo Chemical of Japan (42%), Beijing Tongmei of China (36%), and JX of Japan (13%). Driven by the threefold growth in AI server demand over three years, 800G optical modules have become standard, while 1.6T products are accelerating mass production. Global leading optical chip companies are urgently expanding production, triggering a "rigid run" on InP substrates. It is predicted that by 2026, global demand will soar to 1.281 million pieces (2-inch equivalent) with a market size of 202 million US dollars, of which 77.7% of the demand comes from optical modules. Against the backdrop of geopolitical frictions, extreme monopolization has put China's advanced computing and communication industries at risk of supply chain disruption. Faced with this predicament, Chinese enterprises have embarked on a path of breakthrough: Yunnan Germanium Industry has conquered the 6-inch InP preparation process, seizing the high ground of large-size technology; Bogie Co., Ltd. has built China's first production line with independent intellectual property rights, achieving a breakthrough from 0 to 1; leading enterprises such as San'an Optoelectronics are laying out the compound semiconductor material ecosystem.
    This nanoscale contest is of profound significance, relating to data transmission efficiency, AI service costs, and national technological competitiveness. Judging from the journey of Chinese enterprises in the optical module industry "from catching up to leading", the independent breakthrough of InP substrates is not only a corporate commercial war but also a national technological mission that must be accomplished.

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