Chip giant Nvidia has announced a multi-year investment in Corning of up to $3.2 billion that will ramp up the production of fiber optic cables in the US.

As part of the agreement, Corning will boost its US-based connectivity manufacturing by 10x, while expanding its US fiber production capacity by more than 50 percent to meet the accelerating demand driven by AI factory buildouts.

To support these manufacturing ambitions, three new advanced manufacturing facilities will be built in North Carolina and Texas, creating more than 3,000 jobs.

Following the announcement, Corning's shares climbed 10 percent, while Nvidia stock gained more than four percent.

“AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout of our time – and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American manufacturing and supply chains,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.

“Together with Corning, we are inventing the future of computing with advanced optical technologies – building the foundation for AI infrastructure where intelligence moves at the speed of light while advancing the proud tradition of Made in America.”

As highlighted by Nvidia, Corning’s expanded capacity will supply the optical connectivity hyperscale data centers use to deploy Nvidia-accelerated computing at scale.

For Corning, it’s another high-profile deal following a $6 billion agreement the glass maker signed with Facebook parent company Meta earlier this year.

"This [Nvidia] partnership is proof that AI is not just a technology story. It is a manufacturing story, and it is happening here in the United States. Together with Nvidia, we are ensuring the critical technologies powering AI are invented, engineered, and built in America," said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, CEO, and president of Corning.

This follows other high-profile investments made by Nvidia, including its recent investment in network vendor Nokia, as it seeks to reinvent the network RAN ahead of the 6G era.