Why POET’s AI-Focused Optical Strategy Earned a Fresh Boost From Northland in December

POET Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:POET) is one of the fastest-growing semiconductor stocks to buy. On December 3, Northland increased its price target on the stock from $7 to $8 and maintained its Outperform rating, according to TheFly. Following Marvell Technology’s acquisition of startup Celestial AI, Northland noted that several suppliers of lasers, external light sources, and other optical components are seeing improved long-term potential. The firm therefore updated its estimates and price target of this group of companies, including POET Technologies.

Earlier, on November 11, 2025, POET announced a collaboration with Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) to co-develop 3.2 Tbps optical engines for co-packaged optics (CPO) and next-gen AI connectivity.

Why POET’s AI-Focused Optical Strategy Earned a Fresh Boost From Northland in December

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The project centers on 400G-per-lane thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulators integrated on the POET Optical Interposer™. POET will fund development, with completion targeted for the second half of 2026. Management clearly frames the reasons: AI data centers and hyperscalers need far higher bandwidth, and a TFLN-based 400G/lane modulator on a scalable interposer platform aims to meet that demand while doubling the speeds of today’s fastest networking devices. QUBT says POET’s interposer is the key enabler for a commercially viable 400G/lane device; POET calls TFLN a “radical step forward” for connectivity as it continues to execute on its sales strategy for existing products.

The companies also point to market pull: 3.2T solutions in pluggable and CPO formats are projected to reach $12 billion by 2030, according to LightCounting (September 2025).

POET Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:POET) designs and develops high-speed optical engines, light sources, and custom optical modules for AI systems and hyperscale data centers. Its patented Optical Interposer platform integrates photonic and electronic devices at chip scale using established semiconductor manufacturing techniques.

While we acknowledge the potential of POET to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than POET and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None.