Corning has been around for 175 years — it made the glass for Edison's first light bulb. Today it manufactures billions of dollars' worth of optical fiber for AI servers.
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Corning's story is remarkable because it proves that reading the market correctly, staying intellectually flexible, and pivoting again and again can keep a company profitable and relevant for virtually ever. Corning demonstrated this over the past year with a share price surge of more than 270% — and this isn't even the first time.
The company was founded in 1851 as a developer and manufacturer of advanced materials.
In 1879, Thomas Edison approached it to produce the glass for his first electric light bulbs. Corning also invented Pyrex, the heat-resistant glass that still lets us bake in glass dishes inside scorching ovens without them shattering.
The company's first major pivot came in 1970, when it succeeded in producing the world's first commercial optical fiber for telephone communications. Optical fiber consists of a thin core wrapped in a cladding with a lower refractive index than the core (to prevent light from leaking out via total internal reflection), surrounded by a protective insulating layer.
That transformation nearly proved its undoing during the dot-com bubble: like other tech companies, Corning came close to bankruptcy. Fortunately, the company managed to survive the period through tough management and strict budget discipline.
The second pivot arrived with the invention of the iPhone, when Steve Jobs partnered with Corning for the commercial development of Gorilla Glass — the durable glass that is now the standard in every flagship smartphone. The glass had already existed beforehand, but no buyers had been found for it; the smartphone revolution was the trigger that turned it into a mainstream product.
From 2025 onward, the company has been enjoying a relentless surge in revenue and share value, driven by the artificial intelligence revolution.
AI relies on massive computing clusters and enormous volumes of data that must flow between them as fast as possible. Copper cables heat up, consume large amounts of power, and are efficient only over very short distances compared to optical fiber — which is why every new server farm being built today requires vast quantities of optical fiber to function.
The company's extraordinary expertise in working with glass allows it to manufacture exceptionally thin, durable fibers with connectors that are easy to handle, making its fiber the hottest commodity among cloud companies.
Corning isn't slowing down for a moment: it is already planning the construction of three additional manufacturing plants in the United States through a $3.2 billion partnership with NVIDIA — a company that also excels at forward thinking.
What the next chapter in this exceptional company's history will look like remains to be seen, but it's safe to assume that its ability to adapt quickly to the market and seize opportunities will carry it to new heights in the next cycle as well.
*Pictured: the iconic main entrance to Corning's corporate headquarters in New York.*
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👋 Hi, I'm Shlomo Strauss, and my posts are not written by artificial intelligence.
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