Ciena to acquire Nubis for $270 million
The networking systems company says that Nubis’ solutions complement its existing interconnects portfolio, highlighting its optical engines as a key technology to enable co-packaged optics for high-performance connectivity in datacentres
Ciena has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nubis Communications, a privately held company based in New Jersey and specialising in high-performance, ultra-compact, low-power optical and electrical interconnects tailored to support AI workloads. The acquisition is aimed at expanding Ciena’s portfolio and adding critical talent to address a wider range of opportunities inside the datacentre.
According to Ciena, Nubis’ solutions complement its existing high-speed interconnects portfolio and will enable new capabilities to support growing AI workloads by significantly increasing scale up and scale out capacity and density inside the datacentre. The company highlights two key technologies within the Nubis portfolio: co-packaged optics (CPO)/near-packaged optics (NPO), and electrical active copper cables (ACC).
Nubis’ compact, high-density optical modules deliver ultra-fast data transfer using light instead of traditional electrical signals, supporting up to 6.4T full-duplex bandwidth, Ciena notes. Designed for low-latency, low-power operation, these modules aim to enable the scaling of AI systems. Ciena adds that, combined with its high-speed SerDes, Nubis’ optical engines enable differentiated CPO solutions to address high-performance connectivity needs inside and between racks.
Additionally, Nubis’ advanced analogue electronics enable ACC to support high-speed data transmission, allowing data to travel up to 4 metres at speeds of 200G per lane, says Ciena. This low-power, low-latency solution aims to help customers connect more AI accelerators across racks without the limitations of traditional copper or DSP-based solutions.
With this acquisition, Ciena seeks to strengthen its expertise inside the datacentre, with the addition of 50+ engineers with deep technical expertise and strong cultural alignment with Ciena’s R&D team.
“The acquisition of Nubis represents a significant step forward in Ciena’s strategy to address the rapidly growing demand for scalable, high-performance connectivity inside the datacentre, driven by the explosive growth of AI-related traffic,” said David Rothenstein, chief strategy officer at Ciena. “With ownership of these key technologies for a wider range of use cases inside the datacentre, we are expanding our competitive advantage by advancing development of differentiated solutions, reducing development costs, and driving long-term efficiency and profitability.”
Dan Harding, CEO of Nubis, commented: “The Nubis team is thrilled to join Ciena and enhance its industry-leading portfolio with our breakthrough interconnect technologies. Together, we will advance Ciena's datacentre strategy by delivering reliable, high-quality, and high-performance interconnect solutions to support the next generation of AI workloads.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Ciena will acquire Nubis in an all-cash transaction for $270 million, expected to close during Ciena’s fiscal fourth quarter 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.
