AOI is expanding its presence in the City of Sugar Land, Texas, including onshoring part of its international manufacturing.
Besides strengthening its domestic footprint, the company’s effort will enable economic development and job creation in Texas.
The expansion is part of a 10-year agreement facilitated by the City of Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and supported by a $2 million incentive package from the city, with assistance from Fort Bend County.
AOI is looking to achieve two goals with this expansion: adding a new manufacturing line to its existing headquarters and building a 210,000 square foot facility for manufacturing optical transceivers for AI-focused data centers, expected to be operational by the summer of 2026.
For this expansion, AOI is investing $150 million and will create over 500 new jobs in Sugar Land over the next five years, spanning advanced engineering, product management, distribution operations, customer experience and finance, among others. The company claims that the expansion project, when complete, will have the largest production capacity for AI-focused datacenter transceivers in the U.S.
AOI’s association with Sugar Land runs deep. After the company was founded at the University of Houston in 1997, it opened its headquarters in Sugar Land with 35 employees 25 years ago. AOI has grown to employ nearly 450 people in Sugar Land today.
What makes Sugar Land an attractive target for the next level of AOI’s growth is the city’s business-friendly environment, primed infrastructure, nationally recognized quality of life and workforce, along with its proximity and connection to Houston’s research and technology giants.
“With our new advanced manufacturing facility, we look forward to growing our workforce by 500 new jobs, helping to attract new and diverse talent to meet the increasing demands of our customers, adapting to the AI era,” said Dr. Stefan Murry, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer.
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