Marvell Technology has signed a definitive agreement to acquire XConn Technologies (see Pulse 2.0 profile here), a privately funded developer of advanced PCIe and CXL switching silicon, in a move designed to broaden Marvell’s connectivity portfolio for AI-driven data center infrastructure and accelerate its efforts around emerging scale-up fabrics.
The transaction, valued at approximately $540 million, brings XConn’s PCIe and CXL switch products, related IP, and engineering talent into Marvell at a time when AI system architectures are rapidly evolving beyond single-rack deployments. As training and inference clusters grow, hyperscalers and system builders are increasingly designing multi-rack platforms that require high-bandwidth, ultra-low-latency links to connect large numbers of accelerators (XPUs) while enabling more flexible resource sharing across a larger physical footprint.
Marvell said the acquisition will strengthen its positioning in next-generation “scale-up” connectivity through Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink), a new open industry standard specifically designed to connect multiple accelerators so they can operate together as a larger, unified compute system. The company described UALink as building on decades of innovation from the PCIe ecosystem while incorporating proven high-speed I/O techniques to meet the performance and reach requirements of emerging accelerated infrastructure.
Strategically, Marvell is framing XConn as both a product and talent addition. Beyond expanding its switching catalog, Marvell said XConn will augment its UALink scale-up switch team with engineers with deep domain expertise in high-performance switching—an area that is becoming increasingly central as accelerator counts rise and topology design becomes a key lever for performance, cost, and scalability.
XConn’s portfolio is aimed squarely at these design trends. The company has developed high-port-count PCIe switching products across PCIe 5 and PCIe 6, and it also offers CXL switching designed to support modern data center architectures where memory and compute resources can be more dynamically pooled. Marvell highlighted that PCIe switching—long a foundation of traditional computing platforms—is now becoming a critical building block in accelerated systems, while CXL is gaining importance as data centers pursue memory disaggregation and more efficient utilization of expensive resources.
Marvell also emphasized portfolio fit, pointing to potential combinations between its CXL memory-expansion controllers and XConn’s CXL switches. The company said that pairing could create a particularly broad CXL offering for AI workloads, reflecting how quickly CXL is moving from an emerging standard to an increasingly practical tool for system architects working to balance performance with capacity and cost.
Commercially, Marvell noted that XConn has engaged with more than 20 customers. XConn’s PCIe 5 and CXL 2.0 switches are already in production, while its PCIe 6 and CXL 3.1 switches are sampling. Marvell expects XConn’s CXL and PCIe switching products to begin contributing revenue in the second half of Marvell’s fiscal 2027, and at that point the business is expected to be accretive to Marvell’s non-GAAP earnings. Marvell projected the acquired product lines could ramp to roughly $100 million of revenue in fiscal 2028.
The deal structure includes a mix of cash and stock, with about 60% of the consideration paid in cash and 40% in Marvell stock. The stock component will be valued using Marvell’s 20-day volume-weighted average price and is expected to represent approximately 2.5 million shares. Marvell said the transaction is expected to close in early calendar 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Marvell positioned the XConn agreement alongside its broader connectivity roadmap for AI and cloud data centers, noting that it expects to be well positioned to deliver customers more performance and architectural choice as AI systems increase in size and complexity. The company also referenced its pending acquisition of Celestial AI as another element of that larger strategy.
Support: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is serving as Marvell’s legal advisor. Goodwin Proctor is acting as legal advisor to XConn, and Evercore is serving as XConn’s exclusive financial advisor.
KEY QUOTES:
“This combination creates a compelling switching platform for accelerated infrastructure, advancing Marvell’s connectivity strategy for next-generation AI and cloud data centers. With XConn, we add proven PCIe and CXL switch products, IP, and engineering talent to expand our UALink scale-up switch team. Combined with our pending acquisition of Celestial AI, we will be well positioned to deliver customers the performance, flexibility, and architectural choice they need as AI systems grow in size and complexity.”
Matt Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Marvell Technology
“At XConn we have built the industry’s highest-port-count advanced PCIe 5 and PCIe 6 switching portfolio to support the next generation of accelerated infrastructure. Marvell brings cutting-edge SerDes technology, a leading process roadmap, deep hyperscale customer relationships, and global scale. We share a common vision for high-speed connectivity as the foundation of modern data centers, and we look forward to working together to help customers drive new waves of AI innovation.”
Gerry Fan, CEO, XConn Technologies
