diff --git a/packages/aws-lambda/src/wrapper.js b/packages/aws-lambda/src/wrapper.js
index 8a7abe37d3..76a9d1e7b6 100644
--- a/packages/aws-lambda/src/wrapper.js
+++ b/packages/aws-lambda/src/wrapper.js
@@ -21,7 +21,14 @@ const { tracing, coreConfig } = instanaCore;
 const { tracingHeaders, constants, spanBuffer } = tracing;
 
 const lambdaConfigDefaults = {
-  tracing: { forceTransmissionStartingAt: 25, transmissionDelay: 100, initialTransmissionDelay: 100 }
+  // Preload OpenTelemetry deps to avoid lazy loading overhead
+  // See https://jsw.ibm.com/browse/INSTA-71262
+  preloadOpentelemetry: true,
+  tracing: {
+    forceTransmissionStartingAt: 25,
+    transmissionDelay: 100,
+    initialTransmissionDelay: 100
+  }
 };
 
 // Node.js 24+ removed support for callback-based handlers (3 parameters).
diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/index.js b/packages/core/src/config/index.js
index bbc2a7fcd4..dde9e8e041 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/index.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/index.js
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ const allowedSecretMatchers = ['equals', 'equals-ignore-case', 'contains', 'cont
  * @property {InstanaTracingOption} [tracing]
  * @property {InstanaSecretsOption} [secrets]
  * @property {number} [timeBetweenHealthcheckCalls]
+ * @property {boolean} [preloadOpentelemetry]
  */
 
 /** @type {import('../core').GenericLogger} */
@@ -122,6 +123,7 @@ let defaults = {
     ignoreEndpointsDisableSuppression: false,
     disableEOLEvents: false
   },
+  preloadOpentelemetry: false,
   secrets: {
     matcherMode: 'contains-ignore-case',
     keywords: ['key', 'pass', 'secret']
@@ -171,6 +173,7 @@ module.exports.normalize = (userConfig, defaultsOverride = {}) => {
   normalizeMetricsConfig(targetConfig);
   normalizeTracingConfig(targetConfig);
   normalizeSecrets(targetConfig);
+  normalizePreloadOpentelemetry(targetConfig);
   return targetConfig;
 };
 
@@ -815,3 +818,14 @@ function normalizeDisableEOLEvents(config) {
 
   config.tracing.disableEOLEvents = defaults.tracing.disableEOLEvents;
 }
+
+/**
+ * @param {InstanaConfig} config
+ */
+function normalizePreloadOpentelemetry(config) {
+  if (config.preloadOpentelemetry === true) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  config.preloadOpentelemetry = defaults.preloadOpentelemetry;
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/index.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/index.js
index 9b470f467c..65fd713186 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/index.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/index.js
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ const tracingUtil = require('./tracingUtil');
 const spanBuffer = require('./spanBuffer');
 const shimmer = require('./shimmer');
 const supportedVersion = require('./supportedVersion');
-const { otelInstrumentations } = require('./opentelemetry-instrumentations');
+const otelInstrumentations = require('./opentelemetry-instrumentations');
 const cls = require('./cls');
 const coreUtil = require('../util');
 
@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ exports.preInit = function preInit(preliminaryConfig) {
    * Another possible use case is, that its theoretically possible that the customer
    * can already start using the SDK although we are not fully initialized.
    */
+  otelInstrumentations.preInit(preliminaryConfig);
   spanHandle.init(preliminaryConfig);
   shimmer.init(preliminaryConfig);
   cls.init(preliminaryConfig);
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js
index 3df80c30e5..f4d99ff076 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/confluent-kafka.js
@@ -7,8 +7,20 @@
 const constants = require('../constants');
 const W3cTraceContext = require('../w3c_trace_context/W3cTraceContext');
 
+let ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation =
+    ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation ||
+    require('@instana/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript').ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation;
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 module.exports.init = () => {
-  const { ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation } = require('@instana/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript');
+  initInstrumentation();
 
   const instrumentation = new ConfluentKafkaInstrumentation({});
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/fs.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/fs.js
index e4e8d01567..8ea068cb33 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/fs.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/fs.js
@@ -4,11 +4,21 @@
 
 'use strict';
 
+let FsInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  FsInstrumentation = FsInstrumentation || require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-fs').FsInstrumentation;
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 // NOTE: otel fs instrumentation does not capture the file name currently
 module.exports.init = ({ cls, api }) => {
+  initInstrumentation();
   const constants = require('../constants');
   const { NonRecordingSpan } = require('./files/NonRecordingSpan');
-  const { FsInstrumentation } = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-fs');
 
   // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
   // https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js-contrib/pull/1335/files#diff-9a2f445c78d964623d07987299501cbc3101cbe0f76f9e18d2d75787601539daR428
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/index.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/index.js
index fb758fe550..85133c5c48 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/index.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/index.js
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 'use strict';
 
 module.exports = {
-  get otelInstrumentations() {
-    return require('./wrap');
+  get init() {
+    return require('./wrap').init;
+  },
+  get preInit() {
+    return require('./wrap').preInit;
   }
 };
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/oracle.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/oracle.js
index 35a3c9b592..13bf58f281 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/oracle.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/oracle.js
@@ -6,8 +6,19 @@
 
 const constants = require('../constants');
 
+let OracleInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  OracleInstrumentation =
+    OracleInstrumentation || require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-oracledb').OracleInstrumentation;
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 module.exports.init = () => {
-  const { OracleInstrumentation } = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-oracledb');
+  initInstrumentation();
 
   const instrumentation = new OracleInstrumentation();
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/restify.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/restify.js
index bf4282f9d2..5c8182a87a 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/restify.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/restify.js
@@ -6,8 +6,20 @@
 
 const constants = require('../constants');
 
+let RestifyInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  if (!RestifyInstrumentation) {
+    RestifyInstrumentation = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-restify').RestifyInstrumentation;
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 module.exports.init = () => {
-  const { RestifyInstrumentation } = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-restify');
+  initInstrumentation();
 
   const instrumentation = new RestifyInstrumentation();
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/socket.io.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/socket.io.js
index 240095f667..168e2bb9db 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/socket.io.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/socket.io.js
@@ -6,7 +6,19 @@
 
 const constants = require('../constants');
 
+let SocketIoInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  SocketIoInstrumentation =
+    SocketIoInstrumentation || require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-socket.io').SocketIoInstrumentation;
+}
+
 const isOnEvent = otelSpan => otelSpan.name.indexOf('receive') !== -1;
+
+exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 /**
  * socket.io-client is not instrumented.
  * We can easily instrument socket.io-client by instrumenting @socket.io/component-emitter
@@ -18,7 +30,7 @@ const isOnEvent = otelSpan => otelSpan.name.indexOf('receive') !== -1;
  * headers or meta data, only payload!
  */
 exports.init = () => {
-  const { SocketIoInstrumentation } = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-socket.io');
+  initInstrumentation();
   const instrumentation = new SocketIoInstrumentation();
 
   if (!instrumentation.getConfig().enabled) {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/tedious.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/tedious.js
index 0b0753bdc7..a8ea5ef5bd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/tedious.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/tedious.js
@@ -6,11 +6,22 @@
 
 const constants = require('../constants');
 
+let TediousInstrumentation;
+
+function initInstrumentation() {
+  TediousInstrumentation =
+    TediousInstrumentation || require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-tedious').TediousInstrumentation;
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = () => {
+  initInstrumentation();
+};
+
 module.exports.init = () => {
   // Opentelemetry only supports tedious version >=1.11.0 and <=15, please refer the following link
   // for more details: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@opentelemetry/instrumentation-tedious#supported-versions
 
-  const { TediousInstrumentation } = require('@opentelemetry/instrumentation-tedious');
+  initInstrumentation();
 
   const instrumentation = new TediousInstrumentation();
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
index a6c2b18715..8ebbcf66c5 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/tracing/opentelemetry-instrumentations/wrap.js
@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@
 
 'use strict';
 
-const { AsyncHooksContextManager } = require('@opentelemetry/context-async-hooks');
-const { W3CTraceContextPropagator, hrTimeDuration, hrTimeToMilliseconds } = require('@opentelemetry/core');
-const api = require('@opentelemetry/api');
-const { BasicTracerProvider } = require('@opentelemetry/sdk-trace-base');
 const utils = require('./utils');
 const constants = require('../constants');
 const supportedVersion = require('../supportedVersion');
@@ -27,6 +23,60 @@ const instrumentations = {
   '@instana/instrumentation-confluent-kafka-javascript': { name: 'confluent-kafka' }
 };
 
+let AsyncHooksContextManager;
+let W3CTraceContextPropagator;
+let hrTimeDuration;
+let hrTimeToMilliseconds;
+let api;
+let BasicTracerProvider;
+let coreModule;
+
+function initOtelCoreDependencies() {
+  api = api || require('@opentelemetry/api');
+  coreModule = coreModule || require('@opentelemetry/core');
+  AsyncHooksContextManager =
+    AsyncHooksContextManager || require('@opentelemetry/context-async-hooks').AsyncHooksContextManager;
+  BasicTracerProvider = BasicTracerProvider || require('@opentelemetry/sdk-trace-base').BasicTracerProvider;
+
+  W3CTraceContextPropagator = coreModule.W3CTraceContextPropagator;
+  hrTimeDuration = coreModule.hrTimeDuration;
+  hrTimeToMilliseconds = coreModule.hrTimeToMilliseconds;
+}
+
+function getInstrumentation(instr) {
+  if (!instr.module) {
+    instr.module = require(`./${instr.name}`);
+  }
+  return instr.module;
+}
+
+function preInitInstrumentations() {
+  Object.values(instrumentations).forEach(instr => {
+    const instrumentation = getInstrumentation(instr);
+    instrumentation.preInit?.();
+  });
+}
+
+function initInstrumentations(cls) {
+  Object.values(instrumentations).forEach(instr => {
+    const instrumentation = getInstrumentation(instr);
+    instrumentation.init?.({ cls, api: api });
+  });
+}
+
+module.exports.preInit = config => {
+  if (!supportedVersion(process.versions.node)) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (!config?.preloadOpentelemetry) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  initOtelCoreDependencies();
+  preInitInstrumentations();
+};
+
 // NOTE: using a logger might create a recursive execution
 //       logger.debug -> creates fs call -> calls transformToInstanaSpan -> calls logger.debug
 //       use uninstrumented logger, but useless for production
@@ -35,12 +85,8 @@ module.exports.init = (_config, cls) => {
     return;
   }
 
-  Object.keys(instrumentations).forEach(k => {
-    const value = instrumentations[k];
-    const instrumentation = require(`./${value.name}`);
-    instrumentation.init({ cls, api: api });
-    value.module = instrumentation;
-  });
+  initOtelCoreDependencies();
+  initInstrumentations(cls);
 
   const prepareData = (otelSpan, instrumentation) => {
     const obj = {
diff --git a/packages/core/test/config/normalizeConfig_test.js b/packages/core/test/config/normalizeConfig_test.js
index 7c35400caf..b61295fe6b 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/config/normalizeConfig_test.js
+++ b/packages/core/test/config/normalizeConfig_test.js
@@ -943,6 +943,30 @@ describe('config.normalizeConfig', () => {
     expect(config.tracing.ignoreEndpoints).to.deep.equal({});
   });
 
+  it('preloadOpentelemetry should default to false', () => {
+    const config = coreConfig.normalize({});
+    expect(config.preloadOpentelemetry).to.be.false;
+  });
+
+  it('preloadOpentelemetry should accept true value', () => {
+    const config = coreConfig.normalize({
+      preloadOpentelemetry: true
+    });
+    expect(config.preloadOpentelemetry).to.be.true;
+  });
+
+  it('preloadOpentelemetry should work with custom defaults', () => {
+    const customDefaults = {
+      preloadOpentelemetry: true,
+      tracing: {
+        forceTransmissionStartingAt: 25
+      }
+    };
+    const config = coreConfig.normalize({}, customDefaults);
+    expect(config.preloadOpentelemetry).to.be.true;
+    expect(config.tracing.forceTransmissionStartingAt).to.equal(25);
+  });
+
   describe('when testing ignore endpoints reading from INSTANA_IGNORE_ENDPOINTS_PATH env variable', () => {
     let filePaths;
 
@@ -1048,6 +1072,8 @@ describe('config.normalizeConfig', () => {
     expect(config.tracing.useOpentelemetry).to.equal(true);
     expect(config.tracing.allowRootExitSpan).to.equal(false);
 
+    expect(config.preloadOpentelemetry).to.equal(false);
+
     expect(config.secrets).to.be.an('object');
     expect(config.secrets.matcherMode).to.equal('contains-ignore-case');
     expect(config.secrets.keywords).to.deep.equal(['key', 'pass', 'secret']);