AOI Breaks Ground on $300 Million Sugar Land Expansion to Power the Future of AI Connectivity

On February 10, 2026, AOI hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 210,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse expansion in Sugar Land, Texas — a major milestone in the company’s $300 million investment in the region.

The ceremony marked the next chapter in AOI’s strategy to strengthen domestic manufacturing, scale advanced optical transceiver production, and reinforce Sugar Land as a growing hub for AI infrastructure innovation.

Held at the new building site at 1111 Gillingham Lane in Sugar Land, the event brought together AOI executives, employees, construction partners, and local and county officials to celebrate the company’s expansion, which is expected to create more than 500 new jobs over the next five years for the programming of AOI’s automated production lines.

In his remarks, Dr. Thompson Lin, Founder, President & CEO of AOI, highlighted the importance of the expansion and the company’s long-term vision for innovation and domestic manufacturing. “The commencement of construction marks an important milestone for AOI. We plan to increase our investment in this facility and our headquarters from $150 million to potentially $300 million by the end of next year. We believe this expansion project, intended to support the growing needs of our industry and customers, will position us as one of the largest domestic suppliers of optical transceivers for the AI and datacenter industry.”

A strong partnership with Sugar Land and Fort Bend County
The event welcomed esteemed guests including Mayor Carol McCutcheon of Sugar Land, along with other city and county leaders, who emphasized the importance of AOI’s investment to the region’s economic development. “We look forward to the future growth for AOI and thank them for choosing our city and their continued investment.”

Local leaders recognized AOI’s role as a technology innovator and employer, and the positive effects the expansion will bring to the community through job creation, supply chain activity, and long-term capital investment. The City of Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and Fort Bend County provided a $2 million incentive package as part of a 10-year economic partnership to support the project.

AOI’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, Dr. Stefan Murry, spoke about the strategic rationale behind the expansion. “The state of Texas has done a phenomenal job in positioning itself to be the leader in AI. We are proud to expand our US footprint, manufacturing capacity, and bring new jobs to Sugar Land. We are deeply appreciative of our hardworking employees, and the local, state, and federal officials whose ongoing support has been instrumental to our expansion plans.”

Following the remarks, AOI executives and city and county leaders participated in a ceremonial dig to commemorate the construction. AOI plans to be operational by the summer of 2026 as it scales production to serve AI and data center customers.

Watch the Highlights Video Here!