POET Technologies Appoints Silicon Labs Veteran as COO Amid Legal Storm and Production Scale-Up

POET's shareholder vote on June 26 to move HQ to Delaware aims to resolve PFIC tax issues, while a class-action lead-plaintiff deadline looms on June 29. New COO Sandeep Kumar targets tenfold production expansion.

POET Technologies enters a pivotal June with two critical deadlines converging — a shareholder vote on relocating its headquarters to Delaware on June 26 and the lead-plaintiff deadline for a class-action lawsuit just three days later. The Canadian photonics specialist is simultaneously pushing forward with operational changes, tapping Sandeep Kumar as its new chief operating officer to spearhead a tenfold expansion of production capacity.

Kumar, who spent 18 years directing global manufacturing at Silicon Labs, joined in mid-May and will oversee the ramp-up of POET’s Malaysian factories. The company aims to ship more than 30,000 optical engines in 2026, with engineering samples from its joint development program with Lumilens expected by year-end, followed by a production launch in 2027 targeting hyperscaler customers. The appointment comes as the stock fights to recover from a brutal single-day sell-off.

On April 27, shares plunged over 47% after POET disclosed that Celestial AI — now owned by Marvell — had canceled all purchase orders, citing an alleged breach of confidentiality by a company manager. Multiple US law firms have since filed class-action suits on behalf of investors who bought POET securities between April 1 and April 27, 2026. The complaints center on two claims: the company’s alleged misrepresentation of its status as a Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) for US tax purposes, and the manager’s confidentiality breach that purportedly triggered the order cancellation. The deadline to name a lead plaintiff is June 29.

The board hopes to sidestep the PFIC issue permanently by moving the corporate domicile to Delaware. Shareholders will vote on the redomiciliation at the annual meeting on June 26, a step that would strip away the tax classification that has deterred US fund managers. For the 2025 tax year, POET plans to provide qualifying US shareholders with the documentation needed for a QEF election. Because the company posted a net loss last year, management expects no immediate tax liability from the move. The pending lawsuits, however, are unlikely to be affected — they concern past communications, not the future corporate structure.

First-quarter results delivered a mixed picture. Revenue climbed to roughly $503,000, beating analyst estimates, while the net loss widened to $12.34 million, missing earnings expectations of $0.08 per share. Operating cash burn stood at nearly $9 million. Despite the turmoil, the stock has recovered from its April low, though it remains well off its peak. As of May 14, the share price reached $20.81, then shed about 28% — still leaving a twelve-month gain of more than 216%. CEO Suresh Venkatesan remains focused on scaling production and leveraging partnerships with industry heavyweights to meet surging demand from the AI data-center market. Whether POET can convert its optical-engine strategy into recurring revenue will depend on the Lumilens collaboration and smooth execution of its 800G rollout in Malaysia by late 2026.