AWS is currently investing in Expanded Beam Optical technology from 3M for use in its data center infrastructure.
St. Paul, Minnesota, October 21st / PRNewswire / -- 3M ( NYSE : MMM ) and Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) today announced an expansion of a strategic partnership. AWS plans to deploy and scale the adoption of 3M's Expanded Beam Optical ( EBO ) platform within its data center infrastructure. Both parties stated that these two leading American companies will jointly advance collaborative innovation and investment in the field of optical interconnection, as well as the key infrastructure required for the next generation of super intelligence ( SI ), which is artificial intelligence ( AI ).
The President of 3M's Transportation and Electronics Business Group, Wendy Bauer, stated: "The adoption of 3M's EBO platform by AWS demonstrates that our optical interconnection technology is capable of meeting the performance requirements of the next generation of data center infrastructure. By combining the infrastructure expertise and scale of AWS with 3M's innovation and materials science capabilities, we can accelerate the deployment of EBO, drive transformation, and strengthen innovation and investment in the United States."
Vice President and Head of Supply Chain and Procurement, Jens Gruenkemeir, stated: "Our collaboration with 3M further demonstrates our commitment to supporting high-quality employment in the United States. In addition to powering the services people use in their daily lives—ranging from online banking and hospital data records to streaming entertainment and retail shopping—our investments in data centers also create economic opportunities in the communities where we operate and throughout the supply chain. This includes hundreds of jobs supported by 3M as a result of our partnership with Amazon."
Both parties stated that this collaboration and related investments are expected to support over 500 jobs, directly and indirectly, including the creation of more than 100 new positions in Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin by 2027. The positions outlined in the plan will support customer collaborative innovation, technological advancement, and the development of the 3M optical network product portfolio, and will also help accelerate adoption across the industry through collaboration with partners.
3M expects its optical interconnection business to contribute nearly $500 million to the U.S. economy. This investment will accelerate innovation in the field of optical networks and fiber optic terminations, drive large-scale commercialization, and promote adoption within the data center industry.
This collaboration is built on 3M's earlier announcement this year to double the production capacity of its manufacturing plant located in Menomonie in Wisconsin, and it is expected to support American manufacturing partners involved in equipment and production expansion throughout the supply chain.
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About 3M
3M ( NYSE : MMM ) is dedicated to driving transformation in various industries around the world by applying science and creating customer-centric innovative solutions. The company's multidisciplinary teams leverage a variety of technical platforms, differentiated capabilities, a global presence, and excellent operations to address challenging customer issues. To learn how 3M shapes the future, please visit 3M. com / news.
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