The surge in demand for AI computing power has ignited the optical module sector, leading people to realize—Suzhou has long been standing in the light.
On April 23, Zhongji Innolight's intraday market cap broke through 1 trillion yuan, making it the first enterprise in the optical module industry to reach this milestone. The core performance of this leading company comes almost entirely from its wholly-owned subsidiary, Suzhou Innolight, which contributed over 95% of the parent company's revenue. Zhongji Innolight's rise is not just a victory for one company, but the concentrated realization of thirty years of deep cultivation in Suzhou's AI industry chain.
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Among the &#34;Yi-Zhong-Tian&#34; trio of optical modules, Suzhou holds two seats. Besides Zhongji Innolight, Tianfu Communication is also rooted here. Other AI industry chain enterprises located in Suzhou, such as Dongshan Precision and Hushi Shares, also reported outstanding first-quarter financial results, with stock prices generally rising more than 50% year-to-date. Over the past year, the average gain for the top ten Suzhou chip concept stocks reached a high of 152.90%. From optical chips and optical devices to optical modules and PCBs, Suzhou enterprises occupy key positions in every link of the AI computing power industry chain, forming a complete industrial ecosystem.
This collective explosion was not accidental. For thirty years, Suzhou started with a single fiber optic cable in Wujiang and has woven a &#34;digital vascular system&#34; that supports global AI computing power. Today, this ancient Jiangnan city is shedding its old shell as a &#34;manufacturing city&#34; and accelerating its metamorphosis into a &#34;smart manufacturing city.&#34;
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<h2>Trillion-Yuan Market Cap, Rooted in Suzhou</h2>
Zhongji Innolight's foundation runs deep in Suzhou. As a global leader in optical modules, its performance pillar relies almost entirely on its wholly-owned subsidiary, Suzhou Innolight: of the company's 382.40 billion yuan revenue in 2025, Suzhou Innolight alone contributed 364.47 billion yuan, accounting for over 95%.
This represents nearly twenty years of industrial cultivation. In 2007, the Suzhou International Science and Technology Park invited Liu Sheng, an expert in optical communication technology, back from overseas to start a business. With support from institutions like the predecessor of Yuhe Holdings, Suzhou Innolight was born. Subsequently, the company developed China's first 40G optical module sample and successfully entered Google's supply chain. In 2017, Zhongji Equipment acquired Suzhou Innolight for 2.8 billion yuan, renamed it Zhongji Innolight, and transformed across sectors into the optical module business. This M&amp;A deal eventually became a classic case study in the A-share market.
From mass-producing 400G optical modules in 2018 to launching 1.6T products in 2023, Zhongji Innolight has hit every technical node precisely. With the outbreak of the AI revolution, high-speed optical modules have seen supply falling short of demand. In the first quarter of this year, the company's revenue reached 194.96 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 192%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 57.35 billion yuan, a 262% year-on-year increase, with quarterly profits already exceeding the total for all of 2024.
The seed planted by Suzhou back then has now grown into a trillion-yuan market cap.
<h2>AI Computing Power Wave, Suzhou Mass-Produces Bull Stocks</h2>
Tianfu Communication is another example of a bull stock incubated in Suzhou. Founded by Zou Zhinong when he came to Suzhou to start a business in 1995, this company became the first listed company in China's optical communication components industry. Its stock price has risen more than sixfold in the past year, with its market cap briefly breaking through 290 billion yuan.
It is quite dramatic that in the first half of last year, Suzhou had zero companies with a market cap of 100 billion yuan. With the explosive demand for AI computing power, starting from July 2025, Suzhou added three new companies with a market cap of 100 billion yuan: Tianfu Communication, Dongshan Precision, and Hushi Shares; in February this year, Hengtong Optic-Electric also broke through the 100-billion threshold; today, Sogou Communications' market cap has entered the 100-billion club. Thus, Suzhou now boasts five companies with a market cap of 100 billion yuan, firmly ranking first in the province.
Not only are there huge giants with 100-billion market caps, but Suzhou figures are also everywhere on the gainers' list. Longhua Guangxin, Sogou Communications, Qiangyi Shares, Hengtong Optic-Electric, and other stocks that have multiplied several or even dozens of times all point to the same coordinate. The market joke is coming true: &#34;Suzhou is indeed the biggest winner in the A-share market this year.&#34;
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<h2>Industrial Cluster, &#34;Half-Hour Supply Chain Circle&#34; Takes Shape</h2>
Suzhou's industrial advantage was not blown in by the wind, but &#34;grown&#34; from profound manufacturing roots. According to a report by Weixun Jiangsu citing a semiconductor entrepreneur who started a business in Suzhou High-tech Zone, &#34;In Suzhou, if you need a ceramic packaging substrate, a high-end PCB board, or even an extremely fine test probe, you don't need to leave the province, or even the city; you can find world-class suppliers within a half-hour drive.&#34;
Suzhou's industrial competitiveness is rooted in a supply chain network where everything is accessible within &#34;half an hour.&#34; Over 400 photonics enterprises are densely distributed across the city, with the industrial chain tightly interlinked from optical chips to optical fibers and cables. On April 3, a 5 billion yuan optical communication industrial base landed in the Industrial Park, led by Zhongji Innolight and jointly built with multiple enterprises, expected to add over 15 billion yuan in annual output value.
The source of all this traces back to Wujiang's fiber optic industry. The manufacturing capabilities accumulated from laying communication optical cables globally for decades have found a new battlefield in the era of AI computing power—becoming the &#34;vessels&#34; connecting data centers. Hengtong Optic-Electric's submarine optical cables have been laid for over 130,000 kilometers, supporting the backbone of trans-oceanic communications.
Beyond optical modules, Suzhou's industrial map continues to expand: PCB leader Dongshan Precision, optical chip leader Longhua Guangxin, Yongding Shares and Hengtong Optic-Electric in the field of optical fibers and cables... From core components to supporting materials, Suzhou has built a unique competitive barrier across the entire chain of AI computing infrastructure.
<h2>Policy Boost, Targeting a &#34;5-Trillion Industrial City&#34;</h2>
Suzhou, this &#34;strongest prefecture-level city,&#34; is accelerating its leap from a &#34;manufacturing city&#34; to a &#34;smart manufacturing city.&#34; By 2026, Suzhou has clearly set a goal for its above-designated industrial output value to exceed 5 trillion yuan, potentially becoming the second city in the nation after Shenzhen to achieve a &#34;5-trillion industrial city&#34; status.
Policy support continues to intensify. Suzhou released the &#34;Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of an 'Artificial Intelligence+' City,&#34; proposing to gather over 3,000 AI enterprises by the end of 2026 and form an AI fund group exceeding 500 billion yuan. Individual core technology breakthrough projects will receive up to 20 million yuan in support, while enterprises leading national major projects will receive up to 100 million yuan in support.
Industrial results are already visible. In 2025, Suzhou's core AI industry revenue reached 346.66 billion yuan, gathering over 3,100 related enterprises and building a full industry chain covering the basic layer, framework layer, model layer, and application layer. As the core carrier, Suzhou Industrial Park has gathered over 1,800 AI enterprises, with an industrial scale exceeding 100 billion yuan.
When AI moves from concept to reality, what truly determines competitiveness is not just algorithms and applications, but the solid, complete, and sustainable manufacturing system behind them. Suzhou has given its own answer through the collective performance of a batch of enterprises: this is not a short-term rally, but the compound interest realization of thirty years of deep industrial cultivation.

The AI ​​optical communication chain surged and then retreated during the day, with LITE and COHR experiencing a sharp drop after hours, and APH continuing its downward trend. After the sector's continuous surge, the divergence among bulls has increased significantly. Is this a mid-term consolidation or a sign of a pullback? What's your opinion?

The AI ​​optical communication chain surged and then retreated during the day, with LITE and COHR experiencing a sharp drop after hours, and APH continuing its downward trend. After the sector's continuous surge, the divergence among bulls has increased significantly. Is this a mid-term consolidation or a sign of a pullback? What's your opinion?

Optical modules pulled back — time to add?

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Starting from Suzhou, Zhongji Innolight derives almost all its core performance from its wholly-owned subsidiary Suzhou Innolight, which contributes over 95% of the parent company's revenue. Over the past year, the top ten gainers among Suzhou's chip concept stocks averaged an impressive 152.9%. From optical chips to PCBs, Suzhou has formed an industrial cluster covering the entire AI computing power chain, with a "half-hour supply chain circle" becoming its unique competitive advantage

Zhongji Innolight's Market Cap Surpasses 1 Trillion Yuan — Suzhou, Standing in the Light, Wins Big!