Marvell Technology is in talks to acquire Lumentum, a maker of lasers, photonic semiconductors and high-speed optical transceivers.
The acquisition could be announced as soon as next week, although the details could change, according to a report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the deal.
The deal could combine Marvell’s digital signal processors with Lumentum’s lasers and transceivers, which could make an attractive alternative as data centers shift away from copper connections.
Why Marvell wants optical transceivers
In August 2026, it was reported that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was drafting rules that would ban imports of new models of Chinese optical transceivers. The rules are supposed to be established sometime in 2026.
Because optical transceivers are used to transfer large amounts of data quickly in data centers, the FCC believes the devices could be compromised, leading to disruptions in telecom networks or how data is moved through data centers.
If the FCC rule is put in place, this could lead to a boom for U.S.-based optical transceiver suppliers such as Coherent, Broadcom and Lumentum.
In May 2026, market research firm TrendForce said Lumentum and Coherent were moving to accelerate capacity expansion due to supply chain risks and geopolitical pressure from the U.S. As a result, these companies were looking to secure more equipment and manufacturing capabilities.
An acquisition by Marvell could give Lumentum the capital needed to meet future demand.
Marvell’s data center spending spree
It has been a busy 2026 for Marvell, which has been on a spending spree as it grabs various parts of the data center supply chain.
This includes plasmonics-based silicon photonic device maker Polariton Technologies, optical interconnect technology vendor Celestial AI, and PCIe and CXL switching company XConn Technologies.
All told, this combination of devices provides Marvell with numerous building blocks for interconnect in data centers. Acquiring lasers, photonics and transceivers from Lumentum would be a natural progression in this direction.
