California-based chipmaker Marvell has acquired PCIe and CXL switching silicon provider XConn Technologies for approximately $540 million.

The cash and stock deal is expected to be finalized in early 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

This is Marvell’s second acquisition in as many months, following the announcement from early December that the chipmaker was acquiring optical interconnect startup Celestial AI for $3.25bn, with the potential for that deal to total $5.5bn, contingent on Celestial achieving certain product milestones.

The acquisition of XConn will enable Marvell to expand its switching portfolio and augment its Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) scale-up switch team, the company said in a statement, adding that the XConn team consists of “highly experienced engineering talent with deep domain expertise in high-performance switching.”

Founded in 2020, privately funded XConn launched the industry’s first Compute Express Link (CXL) 2.0 and PCIe Gen 5.0 switch chip, Apollo, in March 2024. Produced by TSMC using the chipmaker’s N16 and N5 technologies, that interconnect provides 256 lanes with a total of 2,048Gbps switching capacity.

The company’s Apollo 2 hybrid switch, integrating both CXL 3.1 and PCIe Gen 6.2 on a single chip, was launched in March 2025 and offers support for the latest standards for both CXL and PCIe protocols across configurations ranging from 64 to 260 lanes.

Established in 2019, CXL is an open standard interconnect specification based on technology developed by Intel and developed to improve performance and remove bottlenecks between CPUs and other components like GPUs, memory, and FPGAs.

“This combination creates a compelling switching platform for accelerated infrastructure, advancing Marvell’s connectivity strategy for next-generation AI and cloud data centers,” said Matt Murphy, chairman and CEO of Marvell. “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.”

Gerry Fan, CEO of XConn, added: “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.”