Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Highlighted a New AI Bottleneck. 3 AI Stocks That Could Benefit.

Energy and memory stocks have been pick-and-shovel winners in the artificial intelligence (AI) market as supply can't keep up with demand. But Nvidia has shown, through investments in companies working on network optimization and with photonics technology solutions, that a different AI bottleneck has been brewing.

As more people become comfortable talking with chatbots and using AI agents, expectations for quick responses rise. To improve the bots' speed, photonics technology uses light to move data, boosting the efficiency of data transferring between chips and servers.

"The amount of silicon photonics technology capacity that we need is substantially higher than the world has today," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a conference in March. That puts the spotlight on three companies Nvidia has invested in: Coherent (NYSE: COHR), Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE), and Nokia (NYSE: NOK).

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1. Coherent

In March, Nvidia announced it would invest $2 billion in Coherent and that the two had formed a strategic agreement. The deal gives Nvidia future access and capacity rights to Coherent's advanced laser and optical networking products, while the $2 billion investment is expected to support research and development. As of March 31, Nvidia's stake in Coherent was just under 4%.

In addition to this investment from Nvidia, Coherent has been on a winning streak this year. The stock price is up around 110% as of this writing, and the photonics and optical networking company joined the S&P 500 on March 23.

In its most recent quarterly earnings results, Coherent reported revenue surged 27% to $1.8 billion, earnings per share increased 55% to $1.41, and revenue from its data center and communications segment increased 41%.

Of course, there are also risks with investing in Coherent. One of the biggest is the data center and communications segment mentioned earlier, as it accounts for 75% of the company's revenue. If demand from data centers slows, Coherent could take a significant sales hit.

2. Lumentum

Nvidia was busy in March, as it also announced a $2 billion investment in Lumentum Holdings. And, as with the Coherent deal, Nvidia and Lumentum have a strategic agreement.

Lumentum is also coming off a strong quarterly report, in which it said that total revenue nearly doubled in the period ended March 28, from $425.2 million to $808.4 million. Revenue for its components segment grew 77% to $533.3 million, while its systems segment grew 121% to $275.1 million. For its current quarter, it expects revenue to range from $960 million to $1 billion.

Lumentum's stock price has climbed around 130% this year, but looking ahead, the company faces intense competition, including from Coherent. Its forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50 also suggests high expectations for this company, with little room for error.

3. Nokia

In 2025, Nvidia and Nokia partnered to accelerate the development and deployment of AI networking infrastructure and AI-native mobile networks. Nvidia also invested $1 billion, giving it a 2.9% stake in the company as of March 31.

Nokia said in a blog post that "Nokia's silicon photonics technology, developed over several product generations, drives the miniaturization and integration of complex optical subsystems into silicon chips, dramatically improving performance, footprint, and power efficiency, while reducing the cost of moving data around data centers and around the world."

This is another stock that's had a strong 2026 thus far, with shares climbing over 100%. Those gains have been tied to optimism about the company's growing AI sales, with revenue from its cloud and AI operations rising 49% in Q1 2026.

That said, Nokia still has to execute on its newer focus in building out AI infrastructure, proving that it's now more than a legacy telecommunications company.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Coherent, Lumentum, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.