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IT Home reported on November 3 that U.S. semiconductor company Marvell announced yesterday (November 2) that it would acquire optical communications company Lumentum in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $115 billion (IT Home note: approximately 766.52 billion yuan at the current exchange rate). The deal still requires approval from both companies’ shareholders and regulators in various countries.
TrendForce said today that, if the merger goes through, it would help Marvell fill out its optical business portfolio and work with Lumentum to offer better next-generation optical interconnect technology services. It would also change the current situation in which Broadcom dominates the optical communications industry.
According to TrendForce’s estimates, Marvell and Lumentum will rank fourth and eighth, respectively, by revenue share in the wired communications semiconductor market in 2026. After the merger, their combined share in this segment would rise to nearly 7%, behind only Nvidia and Broadcom.
In AI optical communications and interconnects, Broadcom has semiconductor chips including Tomahawk Switch switching chips and DSPs (digital signal processors), as well as components such as EML and CW Laser light sources. It is a leading supplier with capabilities in both “optics” and “electronics.” Marvell focuses primarily on “electronics,” while Lumentum focuses on “optics.” Together, they would have capabilities in both optoelectronic components and semiconductor ICs, potentially challenging Broadcom’s leading position.
Among today’s key optical communications components, Lumentum is one of the major suppliers of laser light sources, while Marvell supplies DSPs and related optical communications chips. If the merger is approved, Nvidia and other major cloud service providers (IT Home note: CSPs) could have an opportunity to reduce their reliance on Broadcom’s solutions and gain access to more complete electro-optical interconnect solutions, maintaining procurement flexibility.
From a technical perspective, the merger can also be seen as Marvell positioning itself early for scale-in and scale-up optical interconnects in the CPO / NPO era. By adding the InP (indium phosphide) laser light sources it has lacked most, Marvell could develop an integrated optical engine capability combining “electronics” and “optics.” Following the merger, Marvell could combine its advanced CMOS chip design, high-speed switching chips, electro-optical interconnects, silicon photonics and custom XPU capabilities with Lumentum’s high-performance InP lasers, optical transceiver modules and optical circuit switching (OCS) to offer an integrated solution spanning chips, optical engines, light sources and modules. Joint design and advance validation could shorten customers’ development and deployment timelines.