TORONTO, May 13, 2026, 13:06 EDT
- POET Technologies tapped Sandeep Kumar as chief operating officer, effective May 11, while the company gears up its Malaysia plant for larger-scale manufacturing.
- Marvell Semiconductor scrapped its Celestial AI purchase orders, and now POET, along with CEO Suresh Venkatesan and CFO Thomas Mika, faces a U.S. securities lawsuit.
- POET was changing hands at $13.92, up roughly 1.4% in early afternoon action. Volume had already topped 26 million shares by then.
POET Technologies Inc. has installed a seasoned semiconductor operations executive as its new chief operating officer, aiming to ramp up toward volume manufacturing. The Toronto-based photonics company is making the shift while investors digest the impact of canceled orders tied to Marvell and deal with a securities lawsuit.
POET said Sandeep Kumar stepped in as chief operating officer on May 11, reporting directly to CEO Suresh Venkatesan. Kumar was also made a corporate officer, with the move disclosed in a May 12 Form 6-K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The clock is ticking. POET wants Kumar focused on getting its Malaysia manufacturing arm ready for ramped-up output—a move coming only weeks after Marvell Semiconductor pulled every Celestial AI order from POET, citing supposed confidentiality violations involving details of orders and shipments.
Kumar logged over 18 years at Silicon Labs in Austin, serving as senior vice president of worldwide operations. He oversaw everything from manufacturing and supply chain to planning, product and test engineering, as well as quality assurance and related areas. According to POET, his résumé also includes roles at Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T Bell Labs.
Venkatesan said Kumar is set to take on a key role in global operations, zeroing in right away on bringing “proven talent” into POET’s Malaysia manufacturing team as the company gears up for high-volume production. Kumar received 410,397 restricted share units, set to vest in three equal chunks each year. GlobeNewswire
POET manufactures optical engines, light-source tech, and modules used in AI systems and hyperscale data centers. The company’s Optical Interposer stands out as a chip-scale packaging platform, bringing together electronic and photonic devices—handling light—on one chip. The goal: speedier data connections that use less power.
Marvell is still looming large for the company. On April 27, POET reported that Marvell, after acquiring Celestial AI, sent written notice on April 23 to scrap all Celestial AI purchase orders—even the initial production units announced back in 2023. According to POET, Marvell pointed to confidentiality breaches as the reason for pulling the plug. POET, for its part, says it’s putting attention on other customers, including a different order worth around $5 million.
The cancellation hit a market that’s seeing optical interconnects take on a bigger role in the AI data center battle. On Feb. 2, Marvell wrapped up its Celestial AI buyout, noting that Celestial’s photonic tech targets high-bandwidth, low-latency links for sprawling AI rollouts. Reuters pointed to the move as Marvell angling to challenge bigger AI infrastructure names—Broadcom, Nvidia among them.
Legal clouds are thickening. According to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey docket, a securities lawsuit—Jones v. POET Technologies Inc. et al—hit the court on April 28, targeting POET, Venkatesan and Mika. The filing is categorized as a securities case, with the plaintiff calling for a jury trial.
According to Rosen Law Firm, the proposed class action targets buyers of POET securities between April 1 and 8:57 a.m. ET on April 27. The suit accuses POET of making false or misleading statements, plus omissions, about its U.S. tax status and risks related to confidentiality duties. These allegations remain unproven, and a class hasn’t been certified.
Levi & Korsinsky put out an investor alert on May 13, highlighting a June 29 cutoff for lead-plaintiff applications and pressing the argument that POET’s risk statements may have fallen short. Attorney Joseph Levi criticized what he called boilerplate risk language, insisting it doesn’t substitute for revealing “specific, known problems” already weighing on the company. PR Newswire
POET took an early shot at the issue back in April, announcing plans to help U.S. shareholders with a qualified electing fund, or QEF, election—a tax move aimed at offsetting some negative consequences if the company is ever classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC. At the time, Mika said, “we believe that we will not qualify as a PFIC” for 2026, and made it clear the board was also looking to redomicile POET in the U.S. POET Technologies
Despite the buzz, the financial base behind the stock is still pretty thin. POET’s annual report puts 2025 revenue at just $1.07 million from non-recurring engineering services and product sales, while net losses hit $62.96 million. As of Dec. 31, the company reported $313.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. A financing in January added another $150 million in gross proceeds to the pile.
The risk is obvious. Bringing in a new COO might smooth out issues with factories, suppliers, and day-to-day execution. Still, that move doesn’t automatically fix the Marvell fallout, settle the lawsuit, or convince buyers to adopt POET products at scale. In its April update, the company itself flagged the big concerns: results could shift dramatically if it can’t patch things up with Marvell, fill current purchase orders, hit required product specs, or secure future deals.
