A weekly chip-industry review says Marvell has agreed to buy Lumentum in an all-stock deal with an implied enterprise value of about 115 billion dollars. Marvell builds custom silicon and networking parts. Lumentum builds lasers, optical transceivers, and optical circuit switches. The companies say the combination would serve AI data-centre links, silicon photonics, and advanced packaging. Closing is expected in the first half of 2028, if shareholders and regulators agree.
The same review flags a shortage of high-bandwidth memory as a limit on how fast AI systems can grow. Semiconductor employers are also saying graduates need enough electronics depth to notice when an AI answer is wrong.
If you study ECE, EEE, or computer engineering, optical links and memory are now part of the AI story. A chatbot answer about a circuit still has to match the datasheet and the lab reading.
Source: Semiconductor Engineering. This page is a short rewrite for students, not the full article.