The era of computing with light is reaching the market. Against the backdrop of NTT’s IOWN vision and growing data center demand, this article examines the financial results and latest developments of 20 companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, presenting specific figures.
IOWN, proposed by NTT, is a vision for connecting everything from communications networks to the inside of chips with light, with the aim of improving power efficiency and substantially increasing transmission capacity. Under its medium-term strategy, NTT has stated that it plans total investment of approximately ¥12 trillion over the 5 years from fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2027, with approximately ¥8 trillion directed toward growth areas including IOWN and data centers.
The roadmap advances from the commercialization of IOWN1.0 in 2023 to IOWN2.0 in 2025, IOWN3.0 in 2028, and IOWN4.0 in 2032 and beyond. In October 2025, NTT announced a 102.4Tbps-class switch equipped with PEC-2 and set a target of commercial availability during fiscal 2026.
As demand for generative AI drives up data center power consumption, photonics-electronics convergence technology has become a global trend, with NVIDIA and Broadcom announcing related products. According to an estimate by Fuji Keizai, the market is forecast to expand to more than ¥14 trillion by 2030.
As for the stock market’s response, Fujikura was reported to have exceeded a market capitalization of ¥10 trillion for the first time in 2026, while the full-scale adoption of photonics-electronics convergence is still considered to lie ahead. This article examines several Japanese listed companies positioned to benefit from both NTT’s large-scale investment and demand from AI data centers, reviewing them alongside their latest financial results.