When artificial intelligence (AI) models scale from billions to trillions of parameters, the focus often goes to the power and size of the silicon-based processing chips and graphics processing units. However, silicon faces a quiet, physical barrier: data transfer speed.
Modern distributed training clusters cannot operate effectively when network links become congested under heavy data traffic. On Sept. 21, 2026, that portion of the digital landscape shifted when Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) unveiled Petal, the first petabit-scale transoceanic subsea cable.
