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The World Gold Council says rising AI chip demand has not yet increased overall gold use in technology: demand was 323 tonnes in 2025, nearly flat year over year. Manufacturers’ efforts to reduce gold use offset growth, while wider adoption of co-packaged optics could create a longer-term source of demand.
The World Gold Council (WGC) says the surge in artificial-intelligence chips has not yet raised overall technology-sector gold demand: use remained nearly flat at 323 tonnes in 2025. The council said manufacturers’ efforts to use less gold in components offset growth linked to AI, tempering expectations that the current infrastructure buildout will significantly lift short-term demand for the metal.
In its report, AI Boom and Gold, released Thursday, the WGC described electronics demand as a “tug-of-war” between expanding applications and efforts to reduce gold use. The council said the two forces appeared evenly matched. Technology-sector gold demand had risen 7% to 326 tonnes in 2024, with AI-related use making a modest contribution, according to a WGC update in February 2025.
The council links the limited net growth to miniaturization and manufacturers’ work to reduce or eliminate gold from some components while prices remain high. The report does not give a separate total for gold used specifically in AI equipment, so the 323-tonne figure covers technology demand overall rather than AI alone.
The WGC identifies co-packaged optics (CPO) as a possible future source of demand. CPO integrates optical transmitters and receivers with circuits such as computing chips, helping AI systems move data faster and increase bandwidth. Gold is used in some CPO optical and photonic components, including lasers, and in high-frequency chip electrodes, because of its durability and electrical conductivity.
AI Growth Meets Component Thrift
The figures show why rapid growth in AI computing does not automatically translate into greater gold consumption. Technology demand reflects both how many chips and systems are made and how much gold manufacturers use in each component. Efficiency measures can offset new applications, leaving overall use almost unchanged even as AI hardware demand grows.
That distinction matters for assessing the metal’s industrial demand. Electronics manufacturing accounts for about 80% of gold used in industrial applications, with other industrial uses and dentistry accounting for the remainder. The WGC’s account suggests the near-term effect of AI remains modest at the sector level, while any larger contribution depends on whether gold-using components become common in future systems.
Gold was trading at $4,270.30 per ounce on Friday morning, nearly 14% higher than a year earlier, according to the report. That price comparison provides market context, but it does not establish that AI demand caused the price movement. The report’s demand figures point instead to a balance between emerging uses and manufacturers’ cost and design responses.
From Flat Demand to CPO
The WGC’s latest assessment follows a period of modest growth: it reported that technology-sector gold demand increased 7% in 2024 to 326 tonnes. In February 2025, the council said AI-related gold use contributed modestly to that increase. The 2025 total of 323 tonnes was three tonnes below the 2024 figure, indicating little change in overall technology use across the two years.
CPO is a packaging approach intended to improve the speed and bandwidth of data movement by placing optical components alongside computing circuits. The WGC says gold remains useful in certain optical and photonic parts and high-frequency electrodes. Adoption is still at an early stage, though the council noted that industry players including U.S. chipmaker Nvidia are investing in CPO development.
The council’s longer-term case is conditional: if CPO becomes widely used in hyperscale AI infrastructure, its gold requirements could become meaningful. The report does not quantify how much gold that adoption might require.
“We view the current demand situation in the electronics sector very much as a tug-of-war. At the moment, the two sides appear evenly matched.”
— World Gold Council, in its “AI Boom and Gold” report
CPO Adoption Sets the Outlook
It remains unclear whether CPO will be adopted widely across hyperscale AI infrastructure, how quickly that might happen, or what its eventual gold requirements would be. The WGC describes the technology as being in its early days and presents meaningful additional demand as a possibility, not a confirmed outcome.
The report also does not provide a standalone measurement of gold used in AI equipment or a breakdown of how much gold manufacturers have removed from components. As a result, the overall technology-sector total cannot show precisely how AI growth and material-saving changes each affected demand in 2025.
Track CPO Deployment and Demand
The next indicator is whether CPO moves from development and early adoption into broad use in hyperscale AI systems. Evidence of wider deployment, alongside future WGC technology-demand figures, will help show whether the optical components add to gold use enough to outweigh continued miniaturization and material reduction.
For now, the council’s reported figures establish a near-flat technology-demand picture for 2025 and a potential longer-term pathway through CPO. They do not establish a date for widespread adoption or quantify a future increase in gold demand.
Source: rss
Key Questions
Did AI increase gold demand in 2025?
AI-related applications contributed to technology demand, but the WGC said overall technology-sector use remained nearly flat at 323 tonnes in 2025 as manufacturers reduced gold use in some components.
What is co-packaged optics?
CPO integrates optical transmitters and receivers with circuits such as computing chips to help AI systems move data faster and improve bandwidth.
Why is gold used in CPO components?
The WGC says gold’s durability and electrical conductivity make it useful in some optical and photonic components, including lasers, and in high-frequency chip electrodes.
Could CPO materially increase gold demand?
The council says CPO could become a meaningful source of technology-sector gold demand if it is widely adopted across hyperscale AI infrastructure. Adoption is still early, and the report does not quantify a potential increase.
Source: rss
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