Marvell Shares Rise 5% as Company Confirms $3.25B Celestial AI Acquisition and Beats Q3 Estimates

Core Insights - Marvell Technology is acquiring semiconductor startup Celestial AI for $3.25 billion to enhance its compute capacity in response to increasing demand for AI infrastructure [1][2] - Following the announcement, Marvell's stock rose over 5% intra-day [1] Acquisition Details - The acquisition provides Marvell with access to Celestial AI's photonics technology, which utilizes light instead of electrical signals to connect AI and memory chips [2] - Marvell is competing with Broadcom and Nvidia in the AI-optimized chip market, with CEO Matt Murphy indicating that hyperscale customers may adopt photonics technology as early as 2027 [2] - The company anticipates that the acquisition will start contributing significant revenue in the second half of fiscal 2028 [2] Financial Performance - Marvell reported adjusted EPS of $0.76 for Q3 on revenue of $2.08 billion, slightly exceeding analyst expectations of $0.74 and $2.07 billion [3] - For Q4, Marvell projects adjusted EPS of $0.79 at the midpoint on revenue of $2.20 billion, surpassing estimates of $0.77 and $2.17 billion [3]