--- title: "MaxLinear launches a power chip to save up to half a watt per AI optical module, its answer to Marvell" description: "The chip is genuine engineering on a thin revenue line: it saves up to half a watt per module, and its job is to help sell MaxLinear's pricier Rushmore DSP into the same socket, the company's first product answer to Marvell's $115 billion Lumentum deal. Samples in February 2027 are the first date the strategy can show up in hardware." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-15T22:21:34.105Z modified: 2026-11-15T22:21:34.105Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/maxlinear-launches-a-power-chip-to-save-up-to-half-a-watt-per-ai-optical-module-its-answer-to-marvell language: en keywords: "MaxLinear, Marvell, Optical Modules, AI Data Center, Semiconductors" --- # MaxLinear launches a power chip to save up to half a watt per AI optical module, its answer to Marvell > The chip is genuine engineering on a thin revenue line: it saves up to half a watt per module, and its job is to help sell MaxLinear's pricier Rushmore DSP into the same socket, the company's first product answer to Marvell's $115 billion Lumentum deal. Samples in February 2027 are the first date the strategy can show up in hardware. [MaxLinear](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/maxlinear) (Nasdaq: MXL) [launched Jeju (MxL77904) on November 10](https://www.maxlinear.com/news/press-releases/2026/maxlinear-unveils-jeju%E2%84%A2-custom-pmic,-engineered-for-peak-efficiency-with-1-6t-optical-dsps), a power-management chip for the pluggable optical modules that move 1.6 trillion bits a second between AI servers [1]. The engineering is real, but the chip is aimed at the wrong line of the income statement: power-management ICs sell for a small fraction of the price of the digital signal processor (DSP) they sit beside [2], so Jeju's job is not its own revenue. Its job is to help sell Rushmore, MaxLinear's 1.6T DSP, into the same module [1]. The shares rose more than 13% the next day, in a broad rally across AI-related technology stocks that the launch also fed [3]. ## The last half-watt is what a sealed module cannot spare The newest optical DSPs, built on 3- and 4-nanometer processes, run below one volt while drawing more current, exactly the load where conventional power chips lose efficiency [1]. Jeju is designed to save up to half a watt per DSP at those load points [1]. Inside a sealed module, that half-watt is thermal margin: less heat, higher manufacturing yield, lower cooling cost [1]. MaxLinear expects combined 800G and 1.6T module volumes near 200 million units this year, so small watts multiply [1]. "At 1.6T and 3.2T, every watt matters," said Amit Bavisi, the senior vice president who runs the analog business [1]. The 95% peak-efficiency figure is a datasheet number; what relieves heat in a data center is efficiency across a changing workload, which only deployed modules can show [2]. ## Two chips in one socket is MaxLinear's answer to Marvell A week before the launch, [Marvell, the chipmaker buying Lumentum](https://theinference.org/article/maxlinear-a-5-6-billion-optical-chip-maker-fell-8-7-on-marvell-s-115-billion-lumentum-deal), agreed to pay $115 billion in stock for the laser maker, putting chip design and laser manufacturing under one roof [4]. Buyers facing a dominant supplier want a second source, and that is the door Jeju is built for: it is tuned for Rushmore but is designed to support 1.6T module designs across the industry, whatever DSP sits at their center [1]. A module MaxLinear does not win with Rushmore can still carry its power chip. Management expects [the 1.6T generation to more than double the silicon dollars in each module](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/maxlinear-inc-q3-2026-earnings-002544592.html) [5], which is why holding any line in that socket counts. ## The proof lands in 2027, not this quarter Everything growing in MaxLinear's results today is the current 800G generation: [third-quarter revenue was $218.1 million](https://markets.financialcontent.com/prnews/article/bizwire-2026-10-22-maxlinear-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results), up 72% from a year earlier, with AI-infrastructure revenue up 210% [6]. Management expects its optical DSP share to reach the teens within two years, neck-and-neck with [Marvell](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/marvell) or [Broadcom](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/broadcom), whose 1.6T parts are already shipping or announced [5][7]. Jeju samples in February 2027, and Rushmore production deployments begin early next year, ramping harder in the second half [1][5]. What limits the outcome now is not silicon but how many module makers MaxLinear can certify parts with at once, alongside tight DSP wafer supply [5]. *Chart: **Revenue has nearly tripled off the Q3 2024 trough as AI optics took over** MaxLinear quarterly net revenue from Q4 2023 to Q3 2026, showing a trough in Q3 2024 and a steep climb to $218 million in Q3 2026.* *Quarterly net revenue, US$ millions, as reported in MaxLinear's SEC filings. [8]* The rally repriced a company whose 1.6T revenue does not start until 2027 [7]. Jeju's half-watt is real engineering on a small line; the thesis it serves asks module makers to take two chips from one supplier instead of one. February's samples open that test, and next year's qualifications settle it. ## Takeaway Jeju saves up to half a watt per module, but its real job is helping MaxLinear's Rushmore DSP win the socket; February 2027 samples are the first test. ## Sources 1. [MaxLinear press release, "MaxLinear Unveils Jeju™ Custom PMIC, Engineered for Peak Efficiency with 1.6T Optical DSPs", 10 November 2026](https://www.maxlinear.com/news/press-releases/2026/maxlinear-unveils-jeju%E2%84%A2-custom-pmic,-engineered-for-peak-efficiency-with-1-6t-optical-dsps) 2. [Ainvest, "MaxLinear's new power chip saves real watts - the 1.6T share race is the actual story", 10 November 2026](https://www.ainvest.com/news/maxlinear-power-chip-saves-real-watts-1-6t-share-race-actual-story-2611/) 3. [GuruFocus, "MaxLinear (MXL) Surges 13% on AI Stock Rally and New Power-Management IC Launch", 11 November 2026](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9192903/maxlinear-mxl-surges-13-on-ai-stock-rally-and-new-powermanagement-ic-launch) 4. [24/7 Wall St., "Marvell Slides 3%, Lumentum Drops 6% on $115 Billion All-Stock Merger Deal; Coherent Climbs 2%", 2 November 2026](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/11/02/marvell-slides-3-lumentum-drops-6-on-115-billion-all-stock-merger-deal-coherent-climbs-2/) 5. [Yahoo Finance (Moby), "MaxLinear, Inc. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary", 22 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/maxlinear-inc-q3-2026-earnings-002544592.html) 6. [MaxLinear via Business Wire, "MaxLinear, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results", 22 October 2026](https://markets.financialcontent.com/prnews/article/bizwire-2026-10-22-maxlinear-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results) 7. [Tech Times (MSN), "MaxLinear raises AI data center outlook third time as revenue surges 72%", 23 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/maxlinear-raises-ai-data-center-outlook-third-time-as-revenue-surges-72/ar-AA2fW19x) 8. [MaxLinear, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 15 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001288469) --- MaxLinear launches a power chip to save up to half a watt per AI optical module, its answer to Marvell — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/maxlinear-launches-a-power-chip-to-save-up-to-half-a-watt-per-ai-optical-module-its-answer-to-marvell