挑战英伟达？Marvell收购Celestial AI，押注“下一代光互联技术”

Core Viewpoint - Marvell Technology is making a significant investment in AI infrastructure by acquiring Celestial AI for up to $5.5 billion, aiming to enhance its competitive position in the AI data center connectivity market [1][2][3]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - Marvell will pay $1 billion in cash and $2.25 billion in stock for Celestial AI, with a potential additional payment if revenue milestones are met, bringing the total deal value to $5.5 billion [6]. - The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2026, and Marvell's CEO stated it will expand their market potential in large-scale connectivity [7]. Group 2: Technology and Market Impact - The core technology of Celestial AI is photonic interconnect, which uses light signals for data transmission, significantly increasing bandwidth and reducing power consumption compared to traditional copper connections [10]. - Celestial AI claims its platform can enhance inter-chip bandwidth by up to 25 times, addressing the growing demand for computational power in AI models [10]. Group 3: Strategic Partnerships - Marvell's acquisition is supported by a strategic partnership with Amazon, which includes stock warrants tied to future purchases of photonic interconnect products [12][13]. - This partnership is seen as a strong endorsement of the technology by a key customer, with Amazon's AWS VP highlighting the potential for accelerating next-generation AI deployments [13]. Group 4: Financial Performance and Outlook - Following the acquisition announcement, Marvell's stock surged by 13%, reflecting renewed market enthusiasm [3]. - Marvell's Q3 earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.76 and revenue of $2.08 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, with a forecast of $2.2 billion for Q4 [15]. - The company anticipates total revenue of approximately $10 billion for the next fiscal year, with a 25% growth in data center revenue driven by AI demand [15].