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Marvell to Acquire Celestial AI for $3.25 Billion to Bring Photonics In‑House

The purchase brings silicon‑photonics know‑how in‑house to tackle AI compute‑to‑memory bottlenecks.

Overview

  • Deal terms include $1 billion in cash and 27.2 million Marvell shares valued at $2.25 billion, with milestone payments lifting the total up to about $5.5 billion.
  • Marvell expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2026 and plans to deploy Celestial’s photonic fabric in next‑generation data‑center connectivity and custom AI chips.
  • Company guidance projects meaningful Celestial revenue starting in the second half of fiscal 2028, reaching a $500 million run rate by Q4 FY2028 and $1 billion by Q4 FY2029.
  • Marvell issued an Amazon warrant tied to purchases of photonic fabric products through 2030, allowing up to $90 million in Marvell stock to be acquired at an exercise price near $87.
  • Alongside the deal, Marvell beat Q3 estimates and forecast data‑center revenue growth of more than 25% next fiscal year with roughly $10 billion in total revenue, and shares swung from an initial dip to gains of about 9–14% as analysts raised price targets.