POET Technologies $POET ( ▲ 11.01% ) is jumping in premarket trading as investors latch onto a simple idea: if Marvell $MRVL ( ▲ 0.26% ) is spending billions on Celestial AI, then photonics suppliers like POET may be next in line to benefit.
Marvell’s Q3 earnings dropped Tuesday night, but the real headline was its agreement to acquire Celestial AI for at least $3.25 billion in cash and stock. That price tag could climb by another $2.25 billion if Celestial hits revenue milestones over the next two years. During the call, CEO Matt Murphy highlighted why Celestial’s tech matters so much in the AI buildout. Copper interconnects are hitting physical limits, Murphy said, and the industry needs optical systems that can move massive amounts of data with lower power use and much higher bandwidth.
That is exactly the problem Celestial AI is trying to solve with its photonic fabric, and it is why POET is suddenly back in the spotlight. While the two companies play different roles in the photonics supply chain, they are closely aligned. POET builds the underlying optical interposer technology, and Celestial uses it to power its data center systems. Celestial has been listed as a POET customer in past filings, and the two companies announced a formal supply partnership in 2022.
Retail traders noticed the connection quickly. As of early Wednesday morning, POET was one of the most-discussed tickers on r/wallstreetbets, according to SwaggyStocks, as investors speculate whether Marvell’s big swing signals rising demand for POET’s photonics platform.
If Celestial’s big payday is any indication, the market is starting to treat optical data movement as a core building block of the AI boom. For POET, that shift could turn a niche technology story into a much bigger one.