Amazon signs multibillion-dollar Corning deal to boost U.S. fiber output

Amazon struck a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning to expand U.S. production of optical fiber and related connectivity gear, sharpening the race to build the physical backbone behind cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The multiyear deal did not disclose exact financial terms, but it will create 1,000 jobs at Corning facilities in North Carolina and support the fiber, cable and connectivity capacity needed as data centers absorb ever more bandwidth.

The agreement goes beyond factory output. Amazon and Corning said it will also support hundreds of construction jobs tied to expanding Corning’s facilities, while Amazon will work with Corning and Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, North Carolina, to broaden a Fiber Optic Technician Training Program. The push ties manufacturing to workforce development at a moment when the U.S. is trying to localize more of the technology supply chain.

Amazon said the Corning pact builds on more than $20 billion it has invested in North Carolina, where it says it has created over 26,000 jobs. The company also pointed to a previously announced plan to spend $10 billion in the state to expand cloud-computing infrastructure, underscoring how quickly North Carolina has become one of Amazon’s most important U.S. data-center hubs. Matt Garman, the head of Amazon Web Services, said the company was channeling investment into American manufacturing while creating 1,000 new jobs near its data centers and training North Carolinians for fiber-optic and fusion-splicing roles.

For Corning, the deal arrives as demand for optical communications surges across the AI buildout. The company said the agreement would strengthen the domestic supply chain and U.S. manufacturing base, while also supporting residential and commercial fiber densification efforts. Corning’s shares rose about 4% after the announcement, reflecting investor enthusiasm for suppliers positioned to capture AI-related capital spending.

The new pact also fits a larger pattern of long-term supply commitments among tech giants and their infrastructure vendors. Corning said optical communications sales grew 36% year over year in its latest investor materials, and it described the segment as its largest and fastest-growing business. Those materials also referred to additional large hyperscale agreements in 2026, alongside a multiyear deal with Meta valued at up to $6 billion.

Corning, which invented optical fiber for long-range communication in 1970, now sits at the center of a new industrial cycle. As Amazon, Meta, Nvidia and other cloud builders race to secure materials and manufacturing capacity, fiber has become as strategically important as chips and servers in the AI economy.