Marvell makes a bold ₩154 trillion bet, shaking up the AI chip landscape

【Financial News, New York — Byung-chul Lee, correspondent】 The U.S. semiconductor company Marvell Technology will acquire optical communications components maker Lumentum for $115 billion (about ₩155 trillion). One of the year’s largest M&A deals, the acquisition is part of a strategy to combine semiconductor and optical communications technologies in response to rising investment in AI data centers. As Marvell, which competes with Broadcom in the custom AI semiconductor market, also gains optical communications technology, competition for leadership in the AI infrastructure market is expected to intensify further.
On the 2nd (local time), Marvell announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Lumentum at an enterprise value of $115 billion. The acquisition will be carried out entirely through a stock swap. Lumentum shareholders will receive 4.5 shares of Marvell stock for each share they own. This values each Lumentum share at about $1,132, a premium of about 23.9% over its closing price on the 28th of last month, before reports of acquisition talks became public.
Once the acquisition is complete, existing Marvell shareholders will own about 67% of the combined company, while Lumentum shareholders will hold about 33%. The two companies plan to complete the transaction in the first half of 2028, subject to approval from shareholders and regulators.
The acquisition reflects the view that the expansion of AI investment by big tech companies will continue for a long time. As the number of semiconductors deployed in AI data centers surges, the importance of optical communications technology, which rapidly transfers data between chips, is growing. With conventional copper-based connections reaching their limits in speed and power efficiency, data transmission technology using lasers and optical components is emerging as a key part of next-generation AI infrastructure.
Marvell has grown rapidly by supplying custom AI semiconductors and networking technology to big tech companies such as Amazon and Google. Its annual revenue rose more than twofold, from $3 billion in fiscal 2021 to $8.2 billion in fiscal 2026. Its market capitalization has also surpassed $170 billion.
In particular, last August it signed a contract to supply semiconductors used alongside Google’s AI processor. The agreement could generate up to $120 billion in revenue through fiscal 2033, and Google also secured the right to buy $12.2 billion worth of Marvell shares.
The acquisition is also expected to bring Marvell’s competition with Broadcom into full swing. Broadcom is Google’s key development partner for custom AI semiconductors and has a broad product portfolio spanning semiconductors to networking equipment. Marvell plans to combine Lumentum’s laser and optical transceiver technologies and offer an integrated supply of the semiconductors and optical communications solutions needed for AI data centers.




[email protected] Byung-chul Lee, correspondent Reporter