POET expands capacity to meet AI infrastructure demand
Assumes control of JV and centres Optical Engine assembly in Malaysia.
POET Technologies, the designer and developer of the POET Optical Interposer™, Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and light sources for the data center, tele-communication and artificial intelligence markets, is to expand its optical engine production capacity in Malaysia.
The Company has also signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quanzhou Sanan Optical Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (“SAIC”) to transfer to POET its 24.8% stake in the joint venture Super Photonics Xiamen (“SPX”), along with all the production equipment previously leased by SAIC to SPX. With control of SPX, POET now has the flexibility to implement its “China Plus One” strategy to locate its wafer-scale assembly operations outside of China.
Concurrently, the Company has been negotiating with several contract manufacturers in Malaysia to become the focal point for POET’s wafer-scale assembly of optical engines and expects to sign an agreement this month and to start operations by the end of the year.
“The addition of wafer-scale equipment to our assembly and test operations will significantly expand our production capacity to cover the projected needs of our customers for 800G optical engines being sold to AI networks through 2026,” commented Dr. Suresh Venkatesan, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of POET. “We can now project an assembly and test capacity exceeding one million optical engines per year, all dedicated to the 800G and higher speed transceivers required for AI clusters.”
The 24.8% equity stake represents SAIC’s entire ownership position in the JV. With no other shareholders, SPX will become a wholly owned subsidiary of POET and will continue to assemble optical engines for sale in China, adopting the POET company name. The MOU is binding and is also subject to definitive agreements, which are expected to be signed by the end of November.
Expansion of IR Activities
The Company entered into an agreement with 1123963 B.C Ltd DBA CAPITALIZ ON IT (‘’CAPITALIZ’’), to conduct market awareness and marketing services, commencing on November 15, 2024 and terminating on February 15, 2025. The nature of the services to be provided by CAPITALIZ include, but are not limited to, advice, content development, media buying and distribution, and marketing services through social media channels. The Company will pay CAPITALIZ a total of USD$90,000 for its services, split over the term of the contract in accordance with the services rendered. At the time of this release, CAPITALIZ does not own any shares of the Company.
