The deal comes as Tower Semiconductor expands its AI infrastructure ecosystem, including a recent partnership with Nvidia.
- Lightwave announced a silicon photonics deal with Tower Semiconductor for AI infrastructure.
- The companies plan to integrate Lightwave Logic’s electro-optic polymer modulator designs into Tower’s PH18 silicon photonics platform.
- The collaboration includes multiple engineering tapeouts planned for 2026 to validate low-power 200G and 400G modulator architectures.
Shares of Lightwave Logic, Inc. (LWLG) surged nearly 30% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company unveiled a new silicon photonics development partnership with Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) to power faster, more energy-efficient data links for AI infrastructure.
LWLG stock jumped over 15% on Wednesday to end at $5.02, marking its best session in over five months. Meanwhile, TSEM stock jumped nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Lightwave Logic Pushes AI-Driven Photonics Tech
Lightwave Logic said it will work with Tower to integrate its compact, low-power modulator reference designs into Tower’s PH18 silicon photonics process design kit (PDK). The designs target bandwidths of 110 gigahertz and beyond, enabling customers to build high-performance optical modulators for 400-gigabits-per-lane applications in photonic integrated circuits.
The program will include multiple engineering tapeouts in 2026 to validate performance targets for low-power 200 gigabit and 400 gigabit modulator architectures, which will support AI infrastructure, high-performance computing and advanced networking systems.
"This collaboration allows us to bring the performance advantages of our electro-optic polymer modulators into a widely accessible foundry PDK, lowering the barrier for customers to create differentiated photonic solutions and accelerate innovation," Lightwave Logic CEO Yves LeMaitre said in a statement.
Photonics Deals Target AI Data Centers
Earlier this month, Lightwave Logic also said that its electro-optic polymer modulator platform was integrated into the Luceda Photonics design environment, targeting SilTerra Malaysia's silicon photonics platform.
The deal allows designers to develop and tape out photonic integrated circuits using Lightwave Logic’s modulators, which target 200 gigabit per second and 400 gigabit per second per lane operation for high-bandwidth optical interconnects used in AI infrastructure and advanced computing systems. SilTerra, Lightwave Logic, and Luceda Photonics completed an initial tapeout earlier this year, with device testing and performance validation expected in mid-2026.
The deal also comes amid rising momentum for Tower Semiconductor after the company announced last month a deal with Nvidia to develop 1.6 terabits-per-second optical modules for AI data centers using its silicon photonics platform. The tech enables higher-bandwidth optical connectivity for next-generation AI infrastructure and networking systems.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for LWLG was ‘extremely bullish,’ while sentiment for TSEM was ‘bullish,’ with both stocks seeing ‘extremely high’ message volume.
One user said, “Big day upcoming! Validation & acceleration of implementation of the excellent Lightwave technology through this Tower deal!”
Another user said, “Nvidia and Tower collaboration is something that can really 10X the stock [LWLG] in a very short period of time.”
LWLG stock has skyrocketed over 250% over the past year, while TSEM stock has also surged over 220% over the same period.
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