A package includes a first die with a bridging element with a first interconnect region, a first photonic transceiver portion, a second interconnect region, a first photonic path to an optical interface (OI), and a second photonic path from the OI to the first photonic transceiver portion. The first interconnect region electrically couples the first photonic transceiver portion to a second photonic transceiver portion in an analog/mixed-signal die (AMS die), while the second interconnect region connects a third photonic transceiver portion in a general die to the second photonic transceiver portion using an electrical coupling embedded in the first die. The electrical interconnects in the first interconnect region are less than two millimeters in length.