News

POET Technologies’ Chief Scientist in Spotlight at Empire Club’s Spirit of a Pioneer

April 14th, 2014

Toronto, ON, and Storrs, CT, April 14, 2014 – POET Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: PTK; OTCQX: POETF) (“the Company”) – developer of the planar opto-electronic technology (POET) platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single semiconductor wafer – is announcing that its Chief Scientist, Dr. Geoffrey W. Taylor, is an invited speaker at the Empire Club of Canada’s Spirit of a Pioneer series on April 28, 2014.

Semiconductor Pioneers

Dr. Taylor will spotlight the Company’s semiconductor solution in the industry’s race to sustain Moore’s Law beyond the constraints of traditional silicon.

Dr. Taylor’s original vision drove a dedicated team, over the past two decades, towards the development of a semiconductor process that integrates both optical and electronic capability on a single chip, building up an arsenal of patents that cover the proprietary POET process. Dr. Taylor is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Connecticut, which is the nexus for POET’s research and development team.

Dr. Taylor will be introduced by Mr. Peter Copetti, Executive Chairman and interim CEO, who will also provide the context to the ‘perfect storm’ of POET’s debut in the semiconductor industry. Other key members of the POET team will also be in attendance at the meeting.

Mr. Copetti noted, “POET is a ground-breaking platform for manufacturers to build faster, more efficient semiconductor devices of any kind, beyond just electronics, beyond just optics, beyond silicon. Dr. Taylor exemplifies our vision, and we are very pleased to have this culmination of his life’s work showcased at the Empire Club.”

Pioneering Moore’s Law to the Next Level

For nearly 50 years, Moore’s Law has dictated the pace of technological change. As the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every 1.5 to 2 years, this increases the performance capabilities of computing devices and the many functions they make possible.

Unfortunately, with present silicon-based integrated circuits and manufacturing processes, performance and cost improvements under Moore’s Law are increasingly unsustainable, and will soon come to an end. These physical limitations will increasingly impede electronics manufacturers from continuing to build smarter, faster, more efficient and cheaper devices.

POET believes that its approach – building on the performance advantages of gallium arsenide over silicon and, in parallel, integrating optics and electronics onto one monolithic chip – is a foundation for the next great leap forward in technology. The POET platform is expected to provide potential customers – including semiconductor foundries and device designers – with a rebirth of Moore’s Law, and usher in a new wave of innovation in integrated circuits with massive improvements in size, power, speed and cost.

Spirit of a Pioneer

Established in 1903, the Empire Club of Canada is recognized as one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and more important forums. Its membership and speakers are comprised of some of Canada’s most influential leaders from various sectors including business, government, industry, and science.

The Spirit of a Pioneer series hosts Canadian and international thought leaders – women and men who have distinguished themselves in many fields of endeavor. The addresses are broadcast across Canada on Rogers Cable and on occasion via live webcast. Each year, the Empire Club Foundation publishes each speech that season in “The Red Book” – a yearbook distributed free of charge to 4,000 university, secondary, and elementary school libraries in Canada, as well as Canadian embassies and consulates worldwide.

The Spirit of a Pioneer series has included among it speakers Winston Churchill, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Ronald Reagan, Indira Gandhi, Michael Bloomberg, and science and technology luminaries such as Margaret Mead, James Lovell, Roberta Bondar, David Suzuki, Thorsten Heins, Michael Dell, Vinton Cerf, Bertram Brockhouse, John Polanyi, and Bill Gates.

About POET Technologies Inc.

POET Technologies is the developer of the POET platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single semiconductor wafer. With head office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and operations in Storrs, CT, the Company, through ODIS Inc., a U.S. company, designs III-V semiconductor devices for military, industrial and commercial applications, including infrared sensor arrays and ultra-low-power random access memory. The Company has several issued and pending patents for the POET process, with potential high speed and power-efficient applications in devices such as servers, tablet computers and smartphones. The Company’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “PTK” and on the OTCQX under the symbol “POETF”. For more information please visit our websites at www.poet-technologies.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michel Lafrance, Secretary

For further information:

Christopher Chu, Grayling
Tel: (646) 284-9426
Email: [email protected]

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains “forward-looking information” (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws) and “forward -looking statements” (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such statements or information are identified with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “propose”, “project”, “outlook”, “foresee” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Such statements include “The POET platform is expected to provide potential customers – including semiconductor foundries and device designers – with a rebirth of Moore’s Law, and usher in a new wave of innovation in integrated circuits with massive improvements in size, power, speed and cost.”

Such forward-looking information or statements are based on a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results or other expectations to differ materially from those anticipated and which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, management’s expectations regarding future growth, plans for and completion of projects by the Company’s third party relationships, availability of capital, and the necessity to incur capital and other expenditures. Actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, operational risks in the completion of the Company’s anticipated projects, delays or changes in plans with respect to the development of the Company’s anticipated projects by the Company’s third party relationships, risks affecting the Company’s ability to execute projects, the ability to attract key personnel, and the inability to raise additional capital. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information or statements are reasonable, prospective investors in the Company’s securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because the Company can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward- looking information and statements contained in this news release are as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise this forward-looking information and statements except as required by law.

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