POET Technologies has raised US$400 million through a registered direct offering, strengthening its balance sheet as it moves to scale production of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical engines for AI infrastructure.
The Toronto-based company issued approximately 19 million common shares alongside warrants in a deal priced at US$21 per unit, completed with a single institutional investor.
POET said the proceeds will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, advance R&D, and support corporate development activities including potential acquisitions and partnerships.
The company is positioning itself to meet rising demand for high-bandwidth optical interconnects driven by AI data center expansion, particularly at 800G and 1.6T scales.
It also highlighted ongoing scale-up efforts across its operations, including expanded facilities in Singapore and Malaysia and a growing global workforce supporting optical engine assembly and integration.
The funding comes as the photonics industry accelerates investment in wafer-scale integration and co-packaged optical architectures aimed at overcoming bandwidth and power limitations in next-generation AI systems.