Street View: Marvell's AI networking roadmap gets boost from Celestial AI deal

Shares of AI chipmaker Marvell Technology MRVL.O rise 6.5% to $98.95

MRVL said on Tuesday it will buy chip startup Celestial AI in a deal worth $3.25 bln

Up to last close, MRVL had fallen ~16% YTD

CELESTIAL AI DEAL, A STRATEGIC BET

Piper Sandler ("overweight," $135) says acquisition brings the company directly into next-generation photonic fabric, a technology that could eventually eliminate the need for traditional copper or optical cabling inside systems

Oppenheimer ("outperform," $150) says the deal broadens MRVL's data-center technology portfolio and expands its addressable market in merchant switching

Stifel ("buy," $114) says acquisition is already validated by a top hyperscaler win and expects Celestial AI's revenue to scale to $500 mln by FY28 and double by FY29

Susquehanna ("positive," $120) emphasizes Celestial's traction with multiple hyperscalers, including AWS, and says the deal positions MRVL well, as the customers move toward newer photonic technologies

Melius Research ("hold," $110) describes the acquisition as a strategic move to address the limitations of copper interconnects, adding that the business should become earnings-accretive in the second half of FY28

Benchmark ("buy," $130) says the deal positions MRVL to tap a large emerging total addressable market for scale-up optical connectivity expected to reach $10 bln to $12 bln by 2030

Jefferies ("buy," $120) says Celestial fills a key gap in MRVL's co-packaged optics roadmap and is supported by Amazon as an early customer, though they expect meaningful revenue contribution only toward late FY28