POET Technologies Inc. saw its shares jump 43% on Thursday after Lumilens Inc. placed a $50 million initial purchase order tied to a new partnership focused on artificial intelligence networking. The deal marks a significant commercial milestone for the optical-components maker, which has been working to prove its photonics platform can scale beyond modest revenue.
The agreement, announced Thursday, has the potential to generate over $500 million in purchases over a five-year period, according to both companies. POET shares closed at $20.57 on the Nasdaq, a 43.15% gain, and continued to rise in extended trading to $21.62.
POET and Lumilens are collaborating on an Electrical-Optical Interposer (EOI) platform, a packaging method that brings electronic and photonic components into closer proximity. The technology aims to help AI data-center systems handle larger data loads at higher speeds while reducing power consumption compared to traditional electrical connections.
"GPU interconnects are emerging as the defining bottleneck for scaling AI," said Ankur Singla, founder and CEO of Lumilens. POET CEO Suresh Venkatesan described the partnership as applying "semiconductor-style manufacturing discipline to optical engines."
Under the terms, Lumilens received a warrant to purchase up to 22.9 million POET common shares at $8.25 each over nine years. Of those, 2.29 million shares are immediately exercisable, with the remainder vesting as Lumilens makes payments on future purchase orders. However, there is no guaranteed revenue yet, and production depends on successful development. Engineering samples are expected by late 2026, with a production ramp aligned to hyperscale customer rollouts in 2027.
The deal comes after a challenging period for POET. In the first quarter, the company reported revenue of $503,389, a net loss of $12.3 million, and negative operating cash flow of $8.8 million. On April 27, POET disclosed that Marvell Semiconductor had canceled all purchase orders with Celestial AI, including those for initial production, alleging POET violated confidentiality rules. In December, Reuters reported Marvell's $3.25 billion acquisition of Celestial AI, which brought photonics technology into Marvell's portfolio, intensifying competition against Broadcom and Nvidia.
Despite the setbacks, Venkatesan pointed to recent deals with LITEON, Lessengers, and Lumilens as evidence of growing demand for POET's Optical Interposer platform. He called the Lumilens agreement an "important commercial milestone," though the company must now translate that milestone into actual orders, shipments, and cash flow.
POET is also strengthening its operations. The company announced that Sandeep Kumar, formerly head of operations at Silicon Labs, will join as chief operating officer starting May 11. Venkatesan said Kumar's primary task will be to ramp up manufacturing hires in Malaysia, preparing the site for high-volume output.
With the Lumilens deal, POET has set a larger commercial goal, but the timeline extends to 2027, and the first-quarter loss remains a concern. The company now faces the challenge of delivering on its promises rather than just talking up demand.
