We spent OFC 2026 running a live optical memory demonstration on the floor rather than showing slides. Here is what was on the bench and what visitors asked about most.

The demonstration

A single accelerator addressed an optically attached memory shelf at 240 TB/s sustained, serving a ten trillion parameter model. The link ran continuously for the duration of the show with no thermal derating.

What people asked

The most common questions were about packaging yield, failure behaviour when a waveguide degrades, and how the interconnect fits alongside existing HBM rather than replacing it. We are writing those up as separate technical notes.