AWS is investing in 3M's Expanded Beam Optical technology for its data center infrastructure.
St. Paul, Minnesota, October 21 /PRNewswire/ — 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership. AWS plans to deploy and scale the adoption of 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) platform within its data center infrastructure. The two leading U.S. companies stated they will jointly advance collaborative innovation and investment in optical interconnects and the next-generation superintelligence (SI) infrastructure essential for artificial intelligence (AI).
Wendy Bauer, President of 3M’s Transportation and Electronics Business Group, said: “AWS’s adoption of 3M’s EBO platform demonstrates that our optical interconnect technology is capable of meeting the performance demands of next-generation data center infrastructure. By combining AWS’s infrastructure expertise and scale with 3M’s innovation and materials science capabilities, we can accelerate EBO deployment, drive transformation, and strengthen innovation and investment in the United States.”
Jens Gruenkemeir, Vice President of Supply Chain and Procurement at Amazon, said: “Our partnership with 3M further demonstrates our commitment to supporting high-quality jobs in the United States. Beyond powering services people use every day—from online banking and hospital records to streaming entertainment and retail shopping—our data center investments are creating economic opportunities in the communities where we invest and throughout our supply chain, including hundreds of jobs supported by 3M through its collaboration with Amazon.”
Both parties stated that this collaboration and associated investments are expected to support more than 500 jobs directly and indirectly, including over 100 new positions in Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin by 2027. These planned roles will support customer co-innovation, technological advancement, and the supply chain development of 3M’s optical networking product portfolio, while accelerating industry-wide adoption through collaboration with partners.
3M expects its optical interconnect business to contribute nearly $500 million to the U.S. economy. This investment will accelerate innovation in optical networks and fiber termination, drive scalable commercialization, and spur adoption across the data center industry.
This partnership builds on 3M’s earlier announcement this year to double the production capacity of its manufacturing facility in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and is expected to support U.S. manufacturing partners involved in equipment and production expansion across the supply chain.
Forward-looking statements
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About 3M
3M (NYSE: MMM) is focused on driving transformation across industries globally by applying science and creating customer-centric innovations. The company’s multidisciplinary team is tackling complex customer challenges through diverse technology platforms, differentiated capabilities, global reach, and operational excellence. Learn how 3M is shaping the future at 3M.com/news.
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3M Investor Contact: Diane Farrow, 612-202-2449
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