Arista Announces XPO High Density Liquid Cooled Pluggable Optics

Audio By Carbonatix

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 12, 2026--

Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) today announced the formation of a multi-source agreement (MSA) for XPO, a revolutionary 12.8 Tbps liquid cooled optics module that supports a front panel density of 204.8 Tbps per open compute rack unit, a 4X improvement compared to 1600G-OSFP optics.

XPO was designed specifically to support AI networking including scale-up, scale-out, scale-across, and metro reach fabrics, offering the following key innovations:

• Record-Breaking Throughput: Delivers 12.8 Tbps per pluggable module.
• Unprecedented Rack Density: Achieves 204.8 Tbps per OCP rack unit.
• Integrated Cold Plate: Capable of cooling up to 400W power per module.
• Universality: Supports all industry optics standards (DR, FR, LR, SR, ZR/ZR+) as well as next-generation coherent-lite, slow&wide, copper, and RF-Microwave.
• Flexibility: Supports linear, half-retimed, or fully-retimed interface architectures.

“The unprecedented growth in AI fabric bandwidth and the transition to liquid cooling requires a new generation of pluggable optics modules,” said Andreas Bechtolsheim, Chief Architect at Arista Networks. “XPO solves this challenge by providing fundamental improvements in density, cooling capability and reliability for pluggable optics modules.”

“XPO is an important milestone for the optical industry, extending the benefits of pluggable optics to the extreme bandwidth demands of AI scale-out and scale-up systems,” said Matthew Mattina, VP for AI Systems Architecture at Microsoft. “Microsoft believes this specification can help establish a robust, broadly adopted form factor that enables a diverse optical ecosystem.”

“The XPO module is a breakthrough for AI data centers delivering 4X the front panel density compared to OSFP, while preserving the configurability and serviceability of a pluggable optics module,” said Sameh Boujelbene, Vice President of Dell’Oro Group. “The success of any new optical form factor hinges on a strong ecosystem of suppliers and I am pleased to see XPO supported by all major optical module suppliers.”

The XPO MSA will debut at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles with live demonstrations at the Arista booth 1571 (South Hall) and at many partner exhibits. A list of Arista speaking engagements at OFC can be found here.

For more information on the XPO MSA and how to join, please visit www.xpomsa.com

Additional Resources

• Watch the XPO Video
• Executive Blog: AI Datacenters are Reshaping the Optics Industry
• Whitepaper: XPO: Redefining Pluggable Optics for AI Networking
• Join our Webinar: The Next Generation of Pluggable Optics for AI Networking, on April 2. Register HERE.

About Arista

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large AI, data center, campus, and routing environments. Its award-winning platforms deliver availability, agility, automation, analytics, and security through an advanced network operating stack. For more information, visit www.arista.com.

ARISTA is among the registered and unregistered trademarks of Arista Networks, Inc. in jurisdictions around the world. Other company names or product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Additional information and resources can be found at www.arista.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements regarding the performance and capabilities of Arista’s products and services. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including rapid technological and market change, customer requirements, and industry standards, as well as other risks stated in our filings with the SEC available on Arista's website at www.arista.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Arista disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260312930165/en/

CONTACT: Media Contact:

Amanda Jaramillo

Corporate Communications

Tel: (408)547-5798

[email protected] Contact:

Investor Advocacy

Rudolph Araujo

Rod Hall

Tel: (408) 547-8080

[email protected]

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA EUROPE UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ASIA PACIFIC

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: DATA MANAGEMENT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY IOT (INTERNET OF THINGS) OTHER TECHNOLOGY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE NETWORKS MOBILE/WIRELESS HARDWARE

SOURCE: Arista Networks

Copyright Business Wire 2026.

PUB: 03/12/2026 03:05 AM/DISC: 03/12/2026 03:05 AM

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260312930165/en