A definitive agreement has been reached for Ciena to acquire Nubis Communications, a privately held firm based in New Providence, New Jersey. Nubis, known for its high-performance, ultra-compact, low-power optical and electrical interconnects designed for AI workloads, will add to Ciena’s portfolio while also bringing in more than 50 engineers with deep technical expertise. The deal, structured as an all-cash transaction valued at $270 million, includes customary adjustments for cash, debt, and net working capital at closing. Ciena will also implement employee retention arrangements. Both companies’ boards of directors and Nubis’ shareholders have approved the acquisition, which is expected to close during Ciena’s fiscal fourth quarter 2025, subject to customary conditions.
Broadening its ability to address data center connectivity needs by enhancing scale, capacity, and density to support expanding AI-related workloads is one among other reasons for Ciena to acquire Nubis Communications. Nubis’ technologies will strengthen Ciena’s high-speed interconnect portfolio, particularly through two solutions.
First, its Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) and Near Packaged Optics (NPO) modules provide ultra-fast data transfer with bandwidth up to 6.4 Tb/s full-duplex. Optimized for low-latency and low-power operation, these modules, when combined with Ciena’s high-speed SerDes, enable advanced CPO solutions suited for AI system scaling.
Second, Nubis’ Electrical ACC technology leverages advanced analog electronics to enable Active Copper Cables supporting 200 Gb/s per lane for distances up to 4 meters. This approach offers low-power, low-latency connectivity across racks, helping customers link AI accelerators without the restrictions of traditional copper or DSP-based alternatives.
“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 data center, 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 data center, 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, added: “The Nubis team is thrilled to join Ciena and enhance its industry-leading portfolio with our breakthrough interconnect technologies,” He further sad, “Together, we will advance Ciena’s data center strategy by delivering reliable, high-quality, and high-performance interconnect solutions to support the next generation of AI workloads.”