Marvell Announces Acquisition of Polariton Technologies, Advancing Optical Performance Scaling to 3.2T and Beyond

Key Terms

plasmonics technical

Plasmonics studies and exploits tiny waves of electron movement that form on metal surfaces when they interact with light, allowing light to be squeezed and guided at scales much smaller than a hair. Investors care because this lets companies make faster, more compact optical chips, ultra-sensitive sensors and more efficient energy or medical devices — like focusing sunlight with a magnifying glass but at microscopic size — creating potential commercial advantages.

silicon photonics technical

Silicon photonics is the technology that uses tiny structures etched into silicon chips to generate, control and detect light for moving data and sensing, essentially putting optical fiber functions onto a computer chip. For investors, it matters because it can dramatically increase data speed and energy efficiency in data centers, telecom networks and advanced sensors, potentially lowering costs and enabling new products much like replacing many metal wires with faster, low-power optical highways.

optical interconnects technical

Optical interconnects are systems that use light instead of electrical signals to move data between parts of computers, data centers, or telecom equipment, like replacing copper wires with tiny light pipes. They matter to investors because they can greatly increase speed and capacity while lowering power use and heat, making digital networks faster and cheaper to scale; think of swapping a crowded city road for a high-speed rail line that carries much more traffic efficiently.

data center interconnect (DCI) technical

Data center interconnect (DCI) are the high-capacity network links and equipment that tie separate data centers together so they function like one larger facility, moving large volumes of information quickly and reliably. Think of it as wide, fast highways between warehouses that let goods be shifted instantly; for investors it matters because DCI capacity and reliability influence cloud and hosting revenue, operating costs, outage risk and the need for ongoing infrastructure spending.

coherent technical

Coherent describes something organized, logical, and internally consistent—ideas, plans, statements, or data that fit together and make sense as a single whole. Investors care because coherence in strategy, reporting or guidance makes it easier to predict outcomes and assess credibility; like a map that matches the road signs, coherent information reduces uncertainty and helps judge whether management can deliver on promises.

dsp technical

A demand-side platform (DSP) is software that automates buying digital advertising space across websites, apps and video, letting marketers bid for and place ads in real time. Think of it as a smart shopper that compares many stores at once to find the best price and audience for each ad. Investors watch DSPs because their reach, pricing efficiency, data access and compliance with privacy rules directly affect revenue growth, margins and competitive position in ad-driven businesses.

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Adds Plasmonics-based Modulation Technology and a Team with Deep Silicon Photonics Expertise to Advance Marvell’s Optical Roadmap

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, today announced the acquisition of Polariton Technologies, a developer of high-speed, low-power plasmonics-based silicon photonics devices. The acquisition strengthens Marvell’s optical technology portfolio by adding advanced modulation capabilities that enable continued scaling in bandwidth, power efficiency, and integration for next-generation coherent and optical interconnect platforms.

As artificial intelligence workloads drive exponential increases in bandwidth demand, data center architectures are evolving to require ever-higher performance optical interconnects, particularly for scale-across and data center interconnect (DCI) applications. While the transition to 1.6T connectivity is underway, the industry is already advancing toward 3.2T and beyond. Achieving these next-generation performance levels requires innovation at the device level. Plasmonics offers significant advantages over traditional silicon photonics by enabling higher density, massively parallel optical links with ultra-low energy per bit.

Polariton’s plasmonics-based modulation technology is designed to address these challenges in next-generation coherent and DCI optical interconnects, including ZR and ZR+ applications, enabling ultra-fast, energy-efficient optical signaling in a highly compact form factor. By integrating plasmonics with silicon photonics, the technology extends the performance of optical interconnects and supports the continued scaling of next-generation coherent and optical interconnect solutions.

“Marvell continues to invest in advanced optical technologies to support the rapid evolution of AI and cloud data center infrastructure,” said Sandeep Bharathi, President, Data Center Group, Marvell. “The addition of Polariton extends our optical roadmap with differentiated modulation technology and a highly specialized team. This investment reflects our commitment to innovation across multiple technology approaches as we continue to build on our leadership in high-speed connectivity.”

Polariton brings a team with deep expertise in plasmonics, silicon photonics, and high-speed optical modulation. The addition of this engineering talent enhances Marvell’s capabilities in advanced photonics and supports ongoing development of next-generation optical platforms.

The acquisition further strengthens Marvell’s end-to-end connectivity portfolio across electro-optics, photonics, switching, and custom silicon. By combining Polariton’s plasmonics technology with Marvell’s existing silicon photonics and DSP capabilities, the company is well positioned to deliver highly integrated, scalable solutions for next-generation data center architectures, including coherent, scale-across, and DCI optical interconnect platforms.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Marvell

To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we’re building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world’s leading technology companies for over 30 years, we move, store, process and secure the world’s data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers’ current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we’re ultimately changing the way tomorrow’s enterprise, cloud and carrier architectures transform—for the better.

About Polariton Technologies

Polariton is a Swiss designer and manufacturer of high-performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for ultra-high-bandwidth and low-power applications in communication, computing, test & measurement, space and quantum technologies markets. Exceptional performance is achieved by combining the established silicon photonics platform with plasmonic active devices enabling operation in THz regimes.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the transaction between Marvell and Polariton Technologies (“Polariton”), including statements regarding the benefits of the transaction, and the products and markets of each company. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the effect of the closing of the transaction on the business relationships, operating results, and business generally of Polariton, (ii) potential difficulties in employee retention as a result of the transaction, (iii) the ability of Marvell to successfully integrate Polariton’s operations and technologies, and (iv) the ability of Marvell to implement its plans, forecasts, and other expectations with respect to the acquired business. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by us from time to time with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and no person assumes any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422119639/en/

Marvell Investor Relations:

Ashish Saran
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
408-222-0777
ir@marvell.com

Marvell Media:
pr@marvell.com

Source: Marvell Technology, Inc.