17 September 2026
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Conference & Exhibition co-located with MicroLED Connect & AR/VR Connect
This is a unique forum bringing together the display, semiconductor, and the AI industries!
The event will take place on 17 September 2026 at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands — widely recognised as the smartest square kilometre in Europe and the beating heart of the emerging Deep Tech Valley.
The Optical I/O Connect 2026
The interconnect bottleneck is one of the defining challenges of the AI era. Moving data at extreme bandwidth, ultra-low energy, and minimal footprint — from chip-to-chip links to rack-scale systems — is pushing incumbent technologies to their limits.
Incumbent technologies are struggling to keep pace. Copper interconnects become error-prone and bandwidth-limited at longer distances, and scale poorly through parallelisation beyond short-reach links . Optical links — typically based on active fibre solutions combining high-bandwidth lasers with power-hungry processing electronics — become increasingly energy-inefficient at higher data rates, and similarly resist scaling through parallelisation.
Optical I/O Connect 2026 is a dedicated one-day industry forum addressing the challenges of high bandwidth and low latency interconnects with a specific focus this year on MicroLED based solutions. This forum is held alongside MicroLED Connect, bringing the displays, semiconductor and AI infrastructure communities together for the first time!
The MicroLED Moment?
The optical interconnect industry has long optimised around a “narrow and fast” paradigm: pushing single high-speed channels to their limits.
MicroLEDs suggest a fundamentally different approach: “wide and slow: hundreds to thousands of microLED emitters operating in parallel across the visible spectrum — each at modest speed — collectively delivering enormous aggregate bandwidth while reducing the energy cost of extreme serialisation, complex laser architectures, and DSP overhead.
Bringing the display, semiconductor & AI industries together?
Could this be the moment when the display industry, CMOS manufacturing, advanced packaging, and AI infrastructure begin to converge to address the critical interconnect challenge?
This is what makes Optical I/O Connect, co-located with the MicroLED Connect, unique — the first forum ever to bring these converging ecosystems into the same room.
The Forum Scope
Optical I/O Connect 2026 focuses the emerging optical I/O interconnect technologies with a specific focus on MicroLEDs:
-
MicroLED-based optical I/O
-
Microlens, microlens arrays, and TIR lens design
-
Fibre alignment and coupling
-
Co-packaged optics (CPO) and near-package optics
-
III-V and heterogeneous integration
-
Direct bonding of microLED and laser die onto CMOS
-
VCSELs and edge-emitting laser diodes
A World-Class Speaker Line-Up
Optical I/O Connect 2026 will offer a curated one-day programme of invited talks from leading engineers, researchers, and industry pioneers.
Attendees will also have full access to all conference sessions across MicroLED Connect and AR/VR Connect, making this a uniquely broad and connected technical event.
MicroLED Connect - the global flagship forum for microLED technology, covering the full stack from epitaxy and mass transfer to display architectures and applications. The originating community from which the optical I/O convergence is emerging.
AR/VR Connect - covering light engines, microdisplays, waveguides, optics, and holography. A community already navigating the intersection of photonics and semiconductor integration - and increasingly relevant to the optical I/O challenge
Optical I/O Connect - the newest thread in this ecosystem, bringing AI infrastructure and semiconductor packaging communities into direct dialogue with the microLED and photonics world for the first time.
Part of a Broader Technology Ecosystem
Optical I/O Connect does not exist in isolation — it is the newest addition to an established and growing technology cluster that uniquely spans the display, AR/VR, and now AI infrastructure industries. The convergence that makes microLED-based optical I/O so compelling is reflected in the very structure of this event.
Together, these three events represent something rare: a conference cluster where genuine cross-industry convergence is not a theme on a slide — it is the reason the event exists.
To get a sense of the broader community, explore the testimonials, 2025 programme, and 2024 programme on the MicroLED Connect website.
Your Ticket Includes:
Option 1 —
Full Annual Hybrid Pass
A single pass to Optical I/O Connect grants you:
-
Full access to all Optical I/O Connect sessions
-
Full access to all MicroLED Connect and AR/VR Connect conference talks
-
Access to the exhibition floor across all three co-located events
-
Networking receptions and all on-site refreshments
-
Annual online access to the full event library — including 1,800+ on-demand talks from past TechBlick, MicroLED Connect, and AR/VR Connect events
Option 2 — One-Day Onsite Pass (17 Sept 2026 only)
A focused onsite pass for those joining us for the day:
-
Full access to onsite talks on 17 Sept 2026 including all Optical I/O Connect sessions as well as all onsite MicroLED Connect and AR/VR Connect conference talks
-
Access to the exhibition floor across all three co-located events (17 Sept 2026 only)
-
Networking receptions and all on-site refreshments
Home of Optical I/O
& related technologies
Organized by:
This cutting-edge event will attract the global community from innovators and material suppliers to equipment makers, manufacturers and end users - who will all gather to connect and promote Optical I/O technologies. This event is not to be missed.
Supported by:
Optical I/O Connect 2026
The interconnect bottleneck is one of the defining challenges of the AI era. Moving data at extreme bandwidth, ultra-low energy, and minimal footprint — from chip-to-chip links to rack-scale systems — is pushing incumbent technologies to their limits.
Incumbent technologies are struggling to keep pace. Copper interconnects become error-prone and bandwidth-limited at longer distances, and scale poorly through parallelisation beyond short-reach links . Optical links — typically based on active fibre solutions combining high-bandwidth lasers with power-hungry processing electronics — become increasingly energy-inefficient at higher data rates, and similarly resist scaling through parallelisation.
Optical I/O Connect 2026 is a dedicated one-day industry forum addressing the challenges of high bandwidth and low latency interconnects with a specific focus this year on MicroLED based solutions. This forum is held alongside MicroLED Connect, bringing the displays, semiconductor and AI infrastructure communities together for the first time!
where the latest technology and commercial developments are announced
where the key conversations and essential connections take place
where new ideas, future projects and ecosystems are forged
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form:
BACK TO TOP