One of Tech’s Biggest Acquisitions Happened Between Companies You Never Heard Of
You may have never heard of Marvell Technology or Lumentum, but these two companies are behind one of the largest acquisition deals in the history of the technology industry.
Marvell, a US semiconductor company, has announced an agreement to acquire Lumentum, a maker of optical chips and networking equipment, in a deal valued at approximately $115 billion, including debt.
The deal is larger than Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Dell’s $67 billion purchase of EMC, making it one of the biggest technology acquisitions ever announced.
What makes the deal particularly interesting is that both companies play an important role in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry, and both have received major investments from Nvidia.
What Do Marvell and Lumentum Actually Do?
Marvell Technology develops specialized semiconductors used in data centers, networking equipment, and AI computing systems.
Its chips help move and process the large amounts of data required by cloud services and artificial intelligence applications.
Lumentum, meanwhile, specializes in optical technologies, including lasers and components that transmit information using light.
These technologies are becoming increasingly important as AI data centers grow larger and require faster communication between thousands of processors.
Traditional copper connections face limitations when transferring large amounts of data over longer distances.
Optical connections can help overcome these limitations by moving information at high speeds while improving power efficiency.
By combining their technologies, Marvell and Lumentum aim to develop faster and more efficient connectivity systems for future AI data centers.
Details of the $115 Billion Acquisition
Under the agreement announced on November 2, Marvell will acquire Lumentum through an all-stock transaction.
This means Marvell will pay for the acquisition using its shares rather than cash.
Lumentum shareholders will receive 4.5 Marvell shares for every Lumentum share they own.
Once the deal is completed, existing Marvell shareholders are expected to own approximately 67% of the combined company, while Lumentum shareholders will hold the remaining 33%.
Marvell’s chairman and CEO, Matt Murphy, will continue leading the combined business.
Three members of Lumentum’s board, including its CEO Michael Hurlston, will also join Marvell’s board.
The companies expect the acquisition to close during the first half of 2028, provided shareholders and regulators approve the transaction.
Nvidia Has Invested $4 Billion in Both Companies
Another notable detail is Nvidia’s involvement with both Marvell and Lumentum.
In March 2026, Nvidia announced a $2 billion investment in Lumentum as part of a partnership focused on developing advanced optical technologies.
The investment was intended to support Lumentum’s research, manufacturing expansion, and development of laser components for AI infrastructure.
Later that month, Nvidia also announced a separate $2 billion investment in Marvell.
That agreement focused on improving AI infrastructure connectivity, including optical networking and semiconductor technologies.
Together, Nvidia’s announced investments in the two companies total $4 billion.
Both partnerships highlight the growing importance of networking technology in the AI industry.
As AI systems become more powerful, companies need faster and more efficient ways to connect processors, servers, and data centers.
Why Is Marvell Spending $115 Billion?
Marvell believes demand for AI connectivity equipment will continue increasing as technology companies build larger data centers.
Modern AI systems require thousands of specialized processors to work together.
However, connecting those processors efficiently is becoming increasingly difficult because of the enormous amounts of data they exchange.
Marvell develops the chips needed to process and transfer this information, while Lumentum makes optical components that can move it using light.
Bringing these technologies together could allow the combined company to offer more complete solutions to AI data center operators.
Marvell estimates that the combined business could target a market opportunity worth approximately $550 billion.
The company also expects the acquisition to generate more than $1 billion in annual cost savings over time.
However, these figures are company projections rather than guaranteed financial results.
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