At the forefront of today's tech landscape, artificial intelligence and optoelectronics are rapidly converging—and together, they're becoming the primary engine behind the digital economy, intelligent manufacturing, and next-generation computing infrastructure. Nowhere is this more evident than at the 27th China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE), set to take place September 9–11, 2026, at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center.

This year's edition is bigger, broader, and more tech-packed than ever, bringing together over 4,000 leading photonics companies from more than 30 countries and regions. Across eight thematic expos spanning information and communication, precision optics, camera technologies, lasers and intelligent manufacturing, infrared, ultraviolet, intelligent sensing, displays, AR/VR, and photonics innovation, CIOE 2026 delivers a deeply segmented yet fully interconnected industry ecosystem. It's a platform built for precision matching upstream and downstream players, fostering technical dialogue, and unlocking commercial partnerships.

This year's spotlight is firmly on AI-optoelectronics fusion, with the full value chain on display from materials and critical equipment to integrated system solutions, all injecting fresh momentum into China's high-quality optoelectronics sector, the expansion of computing infrastructure, and real-world deployment across industries.

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Three Co-located Events, One Unified Vision – Connecting Semiconductors, Optoelectronics, and Electronics Like Never Before

For 2026, CIOE joins forces with the International Integrated Circuit Innovation Expo (IICIE) and Shenzhen International Electronics & Embedded Expo (elexcon), creating a powerful three-show convergence that spans a massive 320,000 square meters of exhibition space. Together, they're expected to host over 5,000 exhibitors and draw more than 240,000 professional visitors.

This tripartite collaboration enables seamless integration across the entire value chain from materials and equipment to chips, systems, and end applications, driving deeper convergence across the optoelectronics, semiconductor, and electronics sectors. Aligned with both national strategies and local industrial policies, the combined shows focus on four critical areas: AI computing power, consumer electronics and AR/VR, intelligent vehicles and embodied robotics, and semiconductors and intelligent manufacturing, accelerating innovation and commercial collaboration at every level.

This isn't just about a bigger show floor; it's a fundamental shift in how these industries connect and create value.

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Eight Thematic Expos, Endless Highlights – AI-Optoelectronics Convergence Across the Board

• CIOE - Information and Communication Expo: Building the Optical Backbone for the AI Computing Era

As exascale supercomputing clusters scale up and AI models evolve at breakneck speed, traditional copper transmission is hitting a wall—struggling to keep pace with bandwidth, power, and density demands. The shift from copper to optics is no longer a future prospect; it's the new industry consensus.

At the CIOE - Information and Communication Expo, a flagship segment of this year's CIOE, industry heavyweights will showcase the latest advancements in intelligent computing networks and high-speed optical transmission. Expect to see 1.6T pluggable optical modules, CPO/NPO co-packaged optics, high-performance silicon photonic integrated chips, OCS all-optical switching systems, and MPO high-density fiber connectors—all laying the groundwork for next-generation data center interconnects and high-efficiency, low-latency AI transmission that underpins the digital economy.

With the combined strength of the three co-located shows, the expo builds a complete ecosystem around AI computing spanning chips, servers, high-speed optical interconnects, mass storage, power delivery, and data center clusters. Each show plays a distinct yet complementary role, bridging gaps that no single event could cover: from data transmission and storage media to chip fabrication and terminal power supply, forming a full-loop solution for AI infrastructure. This optoelectronics-storage-electronics-semiconductor ecosystem presents a truly panoramic view of the AI-era industrial landscape.

• CIOE - Precision Optics Expo & Camera Expo: AI Transforms the Imaging Experience

This year's CIOE - Precision Optics Expo & Camera Expo puts "AI + computational optics" front and center, showcasing innovation across the full chain from optical materials and components to lens modules, test and measurement, and precision coating and fabrication. Enhanced by AI algorithms for low-light imaging, stabilization, and noise reduction, optical imaging is shifting from "passive capture" to "intelligent, high-definition recognition."

Applications span consumer electronics (lightweight imaging devices), medical endoscopy (multimodal fusion), high-end security (edge-based intelligent surveillance), in-vehicle vision (high-resolution and autonomous driving perception), and industrial machine vision (3D + AI deep learning). As the industry trends toward high transmittance, ultra-HD resolution, compact integration, and sensor fusion, the expo serves as a vital bridge between R&D and real-world deployment, guiding precision optics toward greater intelligence, accuracy, and application-readiness.

• CIOE - Laser Technology & Intelligent Manufacturing Expo: Taking Precision Manufacturing to the Next Level

The industrial laser sector is undergoing a critical transformation—evolving from a processing tool into a foundational technology for intelligent manufacturing. Breakthroughs continue across four key directions: higher power, shorter pulse widths, greater intelligence, and broader applications.

At this year's CIOE - Laser Technology & Intelligent Manufacturing Expo, many exhibitors are weaving AI deeply into their laser solutions—across processing, precision coating, optical inspection, and micro-nano manufacturing. On-site displays will feature laser sources, intelligent laser equipment, and automated precision production lines. With AI-driven adaptive parameter tuning, manufacturers can further refine processing precision and reduce defects.

The expo also highlights the localization progress of domestic laser equipment, demonstrating how laser technology is moving beyond standalone processing to become a critical enabler for semiconductors, new energy, and intelligent manufacturing, helping drive the industry's shift toward intelligent, high-end production.

• CIOE - Infrared Applications Expo: AI Drives Real-World Infrared Deployments

The infrared industry is at a pivotal moment of intelligent transformation, with AI and thermal imaging increasingly intertwined as the sector's core theme. This year's CIOE - Infrared Applications Expo focuses on commercial applications across in-vehicle perception, low-altitude economy drone surveillance, industrial quality inspection for new energy, security, and robotics—showcasing a wide range of AI-powered infrared solutions already making their way to market.

Thanks to cost reductions in domestically produced infrared chips and the growing maturity of edge AI, infrared sensing is moving past traditional manual interpretation. From smart focal-plane arrays and multimodal sensor fusion to infrared-specific large language models, the expo presents the full innovation pipeline. Infrared captures invisible thermal data, while AI closes the perception-to-cognition loop—pushing the technology well beyond temperature measurement and thermal imaging toward a future of comprehensive intelligent perception, with mass adoption across industries steadily accelerating.

• CIOE - Intelligent Sensing Expo: Building the Intelligent Perception Backbone for a Hyper-Connected World

As the "nerve endings" of the Internet of Everything, sensors are pushing us from simple connectivity toward truly intelligent connectivity. This year's CIOE – Intelligent Sensing Expo is grounded in next-generation perception technologies, with a spotlight on LiDAR, 3D sensing, spectral sensing, and industrial sensing. Bringing together innovative technologies and products from across the value chain, the expo is building a multi-dimensional, high-precision, and ubiquitously intelligent perception infrastructure—empowering intelligent driving, robotics, consumer electronics, smart homes, environmental monitoring, and beyond.

True connectivity rests on reliable, multi-faceted perception. As intelligent sensing and AI algorithms grow more deeply integrated, perception itself is evolving—from merely "detecting presence" to "gauging distance, recognizing shape, and identifying material composition." We're driving continuous innovation in sensing hardware and multi-sensor fusion, collectively building a new perception framework that enables genuine intelligent transformation across every industry.

• CIOE - Display Technology Expo: AI Drives the Next Wave of Display Innovation

This year's CIOE - Display Technology Expo turns its lens to next-generation display breakthroughs, with a focus on Mini/Micro LED, advanced display materials, intelligent display modules, automotive displays, and flexible displays. Leveraging AI-powered image optimization, dynamic power management, and scene-adaptive tuning, these technologies deliver better picture quality with lower energy consumption—tailored for automotive, VR, consumer electronics, and beyond. The expo charts a clear path forward for the display industry: higher definition, greater intelligence, lighter form factors, and lower power consumption.

• CIOE - AR & VR Expo: Entering a New Era of Lightweight, Immersive Mixed Reality

This year's CIOE - AR & VR Expo emphasizes lightweight design, high-definition visuals, and truly immersive experiences. Key highlights include AI glasses, Pancake VR optical architectures, metasurface optical components, and AI-simulated optical path systems. By leveraging AI to optimize optical paths and correct imaging distortion, these innovations tackle long-standing pain points—bulky headsets, blurry visuals, and motion sickness—accelerating the upgrade of consumer AR/VR devices and paving the way for commercial deployment in the metaverse and immersive interaction space.

• CIOE - Photonics Innovation Expo: Where Cutting-Edge R&D Meets Commercial Opportunity

As the show's frontier technology hub, the CIOE - Photonics Innovation Expo brings together promising tech startups and university-led commercialization projects to present the latest experimental breakthroughs and innovative products. By uncovering frontier advances in optoelectronics and bridging the gap between lab research and market applications, the expo provides a launchpad for innovative companies and early-stage ventures—offering visibility, connections, and incubation support to help bring tomorrow's photonics technologies to market, faster.

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Featured Zones Across the Show Floor – A Panoramic View of Optoelectronics Innovation

CIOE 2026 also features a range of featured product zones:

Automotive Optical Communication Zone offers hands-on insights into in-vehicle optical communication technologies

Embodied Robot Zone focuses on intelligent control and environmental perception, strengthening the core capabilities for commercial deployment in real-world scenarios

Automotive Display Zone showcases solutions spanning cockpit displays, automotive optics, and automotive-grade materials

XR Glasses Teardown Zone provides non-destructive tear-down samples of multiple XR devices for a close-up look at internal component architectures

Telescope and Astronomical Equipment Zone exhibits observational equipment and astrophotography solutions

Laser Medical Aesthetics Zone highlights emerging applications in medical and aesthetic laser treatments.

Advanced Manufacturing Zones cover laser welding, optical injection molding and aspherical pressing, and sapphire processing—offering a comprehensive view of optoelectronics' diverse application landscape.

Over 90 Concurrent Forums – Bringing Global Expertise to Bear on Industry Challenges

Running alongside the exhibition are more than 90 forums spanning industry, academia, international perspectives, and application-focused discussions. These sessions bring together leading academics, corporate executives, and investment professionals to explore emerging trends in AI-optoelectronics convergence.

Industry forums tackle timely topics such as high-speed optical transmission, 10G optical access, high-speed optical interconnects, optoelectronic integration, AI + computational optical imaging, nanoimprint lithography, medical endoscopy, handheld intelligent imaging devices, laser micro-nano processing, laser welding, infrared detection, and inspection and maintenance for the petroleum and chemical sectors.

In partnership with globally respected organizations—including Yole Group, the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC), and ePIXfab—the forums offer a window into global optoelectronics and semiconductor trends. The event also hosts the Optoelectronics Global Conference (OGC), Asia-Pacific's premier academic gathering in the field, providing a strong research foundation to support industrial innovation.

Meanwhile, the dedicated "Optoelectronics + Application Forums" drill down into areas such as automotive optical communications, in-vehicle vision and display, embodied robotics, security, and smart homes—driving deeper integration and precise alignment between optoelectronic technologies and end-user applications.

Light as the Medium, Intelligence as the Future! 

The 27th China International Optoelectronic Exposition—with its full-industry-chain coverage, specialized exhibition zones, and high-level industry matchmaking—continues to set the pace for global optoelectronics innovation. From September 9–11, at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, we invite industry peers from around the world to join us in Shenzhen, explore new horizons in AI-optoelectronics convergence, and embark on a new chapter of high-quality industry growth.

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