LightWave summarized the opinions of several people in the optics industry about the $2.6B proposed acquisition of Acacia by Cisco.
Optical technology has become an increasingly larger percentage of a communications system’s bill of materials, and the purchase gives Cisco more direct control of those costs, pointed out Andrew Schmitt, founder and directing analyst, optical networking at Cignal AI.
The purchase also underscore’s Cisco’s commitment to optical communications. “They’ve spent many years being the kid that everyone’s made fun of. They’ve (others in Indusrtry) said that Cisco hates optics. But you don’t spend $2.6 billion on a hobby. They’re going all in,” stated Schmitt. “Financially, it’s a big number, but strategically, it makes a lot of sense.”
“Every time Cisco has bought a (optical) technology company and internalized it, it’s failed. I don’t think they’re going to make the same mistake again,” added Schmitt.