San Jose, California, May 15, 2026, 01:10 (PDT)
Shares of POET Technologies Inc. surged after Lumilens Inc. submitted a $50 million initial order linked to a new partnership focused on AI networking—a commercial milestone for the optical-components maker following a stretch of choppy trading. According to both companies, the supply deal has the potential to exceed $500 million in purchases over a five-year span.
Order’s suddenly a bigger deal, with POET still working to prove its photonics platform can scale beyond small revenue. For the first quarter, the company posted $503,389 in non-recurring engineering and product revenue, booked a $12.3 million net loss, and saw operating cash flow in the red by $8.8 million.
Lumilens changed the tone for investors. POET shares on Nasdaq finished Thursday at $20.57—an eye-catching 43.15% jump. By early extended trading on Friday, they had climbed again to $21.62, according to MarketBeat data.
POET and Lumilens are collaborating on what’s called an Electrical-Optical Interposer, or EOI, platform. Basically, this packaging method is designed to position electronic and photonic—meaning light-based—components in much closer proximity. The idea: help AI data-center systems handle bigger data loads at higher speeds, and reduce the stress compared to traditional electrical connections.
“GPU interconnects are emerging as the defining bottleneck for scaling AI,” said Ankur Singla, founder and CEO of Lumilens. For POET, Chief Executive Suresh Venkatesan put it this way: the tie-up is about applying “semiconductor-style manufacturing discipline to optical engines.” Securities and Exchange Commission
Lumilens picked up a warrant allowing it to purchase as many as 22.9 million POET common shares at $8.25 apiece over a nine-year stretch. Right away, 2.29 million of those shares can be exercised; the remainder vest in chunks, linked to Lumilens making payments on future purchase orders.
But there’s no guaranteed revenue yet. POET expects engineering samples by late 2026, with a production ramp timed to hyperscale customer rollouts in 2027. Whether fulfillment and revenue come through will hinge on hitting targets in development, module qualification, and scaling up manufacturing.
The warning comes after a tough stretch. On April 27, POET disclosed that Marvell Semiconductor scrapped every purchase order with Celestial AI, including those for initial production, arguing POET violated confidentiality rules around order and shipping details.
Competition is heating up. Back in December, Reuters reported Marvell’s $3.25 billion acquisition of Celestial AI, a move that brought photonics tech into Marvell’s fold for next-gen data centers—putting it even more directly up against Broadcom and Nvidia as hyperscalers hunt for speedier, greener AI.
Venkatesan, in POET’s earnings statement, pointed to deals with LITEON, Lessengers and Lumilens as proof that demand is picking up for the Optical Interposer platform. He described the Lumilens deal as an “important commercial milestone”—a phrase that puts the spotlight on whether those words translate into actual orders, shipments and cash flow. GlobeNewswire
POET is bringing in more operational muscle. The company announced this week that Sandeep Kumar, who previously ran operations at Silicon Labs, will step in as chief operating officer starting May 11. Venkatesan said Kumar’s main task will be ramping up manufacturing hires in Malaysia, aiming to get the site ready for high-volume output.
POET now faces the tougher task of delivering, not just talking up demand. Landing the Lumilens deal puts a bigger commercial goal on the table, yet with the timeline stretching out to 2027, and a first-quarter loss still weighing, the price of reaching that target is clear.
